


Hope's Peak Coexist Program

by FeliciaBelle



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/F, F/M, Let these damn kids live a happy life damn it, M/M, Makoto gets a baby dragon at one point, Normal School Life, Slice of Life, Ultimate Despair Never Happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-07-15 00:03:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16051322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeliciaBelle/pseuds/FeliciaBelle
Summary: Hope's Peak Academy has a successful program to inspire hope to the world. Two classes, one school live as one. By Morning and Afternoon, they are just normal students pursuing an education and be on top of the world when they graduate. By Late Afternoon to the evening, they live as a community. Shenanigans ensue. Romance blossoms.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> "Gee Panda, why are you working on another fanfic, don't you have two already?"
> 
> Yes. Yes I do. But, after binging Trigger Happy Havoc and Good Bye Despair...I got the itch. Not to mention; I've been in a slump. I couldn't write, draw, or even crochet! So, I haven't been writing because of that. But! I found a weird remedy to get my out of the block...Long story short: I watched some trashy teen drama thing, drew my cat as a pageant winner, and now I am back in the saddle! Hopefully, I can kick my butt to get back to the Yugioh stuff. But until then, enjoy this Danganronpa thing.

Standing tall and proud in the center of Tokyo was Hope’s Peak Academy. A school that took in the best of the best, student celebrities of all kind from programmers to gang leaders to even cooks and musicians! Students from all over, the Ultimates, pour in every year to coexist with each other and to inspire hope around the world. Of course, they were also set for life after graduating, but that was only the minor detail of the school’s description. Makoto looked up at the school before him as he tightened his hold on his backpack in nerves, he wasn’t that exciting compared to the Ultimate Students to begin with to be at such an extravagant school. In fact, the only reason he got accepted was because of the school’s lottery system, a random average student was selected to join the ranks of Ultimate Students and he was the lucky winner. “Super High School Level Luck” was what his title was commonly called, and today, this lucky student was going to be starting his new life here at Hope’s Peak. Not wanting to waste another second outside and staring in, he straightened himself up and made his way through the doors. The main hall was filled with students in two separate lines to receive an electronic notebook from one of two mascots; a black and white bear with a red lightning as an eye on the black side, and a white bunny dressed as a magical girl. The little mascots had class “77-B” and “78-A” on the podiums they were standing on; Makoto looked over the letter he held in his hand to see which of the two he was in, Class 78, so he was in line with the black and white bear. Creepy little thing.

“Well! Hello there, Mister Naegi! Ready to start your new life here?”

Such a sophisticated bear. “Uh, Yeah.” Makoto tried to sound enthusiastic, he couldn’t really help the uneasiness in his voice. This bear was seriously creepy to him.

“Oh, come on! You can show a little more emotion than that! I know I’m not as cuddly and cute looking as my sister Usami over there, but I’m still representing your class!” The bear looked down with a sad look. “Now let’s try this again,” it looked back up at Makoto. “Are you ready to start your new life here!” this time it asked with a louder tone.

“Yes! Definitely! Absolutely!” Makoto just blurted out, adding on a forced smile. If he just went through with this, maybe the thing will quiet down and not cause too much of a scene. To be on the safe side, he looked to the class beside him who were snickering at one of their own. It seems the rabbit was programmed the same way, as it kept picking on the mafia looking boy.

“Where’s that smile Kuzuryuu? You’re in a school of hope and good times!” The rabbit gently prodded him with a toy wand.  
  
“This is the closest to a smile you’re gonna get!”

Maybe having the creepy bear was better than the rabbit. The bear sighed and shrugged. “Well, I guess that’ll do I suppose. But seriously Mister Naegi, you need to loosen up! You’re far too young to be so tensed and stressed all the time, so lighten up!” it handed him a small tablet. “Here’s your Electronic Handbook, this thing is vital to your school life here, so don’t break it!”

Makoto took it and placed it in his bag. “Thank you…uh Bear?”

“Monokuma! You got the bear part, so half credit! Now then, enough chatter! Get your butt over to the gym with the rest of the students, we have no time for idle chatter when the opening ceremony begins soon! I even had my suit freshly pressed and steamed before coming here, and I’ll be damned if you deny me my fabulous entrance with your dilly dallying!”

“Right, sorry…Monokuma” Makoto moved out of the line and hurried into the school’s hall, he could faintly hear the bear greeting another student with that same cheerful voice, he just shuddered. Despite looking like a theme park mascot reject, the greeting was something, from what he witnessed it had a personalized conversation with the students it interacted with, and it was pretty amazing. No script or anything! Maybe if he could look past the red eye sadist smile on one side of it, he could learn to get used to the teddy bear (Even if he wished he could be greeted by the cute magical girl bunny instead).

Still, he couldn’t let that thing distract him, he had to get to the gym where the welcome ceremony was and he wanted to make a good impression to the ultimate students by being there on time. Clearing his mind and straightening himself up to look like a prim and proper student, he made his way to the gym along with a small herd of students that were just leaving the entrance hall. Down the hall and to the right, into the double doors of the gym’s entryway the students were greeted to a stage in the back of the room and a litter of folded up chairs lined in neat rows. Some of the other students were already seated and conversing amongst themselves, Makoto took a step to the side and looked around the room; reading up on them and being in the same room as them was definitely an experience all together. Some he even recognized; Leon Kuwata the ultimate baseball star (he no longer had a shaved head), the natural beauty of the ultimate fashionista Miss Junko Enoshima (Seriously, how could beauty like that be so natural? It’s official, she was secretly a fae), and even the ultimate pop star herself, and fellow classmate from another school, Sayaka Maizono (Still beautiful as ever, almost like a doll.) These would be the faces he was sharing a class with, and the rest of his school life with, he could feel his heart pumping with excitement by the second! Without the intent of being a wallflower, Makoto made his way over to the rows of chairs and took a seat beside one of the students with the intent of introducing himself.

Decked out in a forest green suit and black polished shoes, a regal air that basically screamed ‘I’m better than everyone in this room’, Makoto cleared his throat to get his attention. The blond gave a soft sigh to that and turned his cold gaze to Makoto.

“Can I help you?” even his voice was cold as the piercing blue eyes that bore into his soul.

“I was…going to introduce myself?” Makoto squeaked out before recovering. “I’m Naegi, Naegi Makoto.” He held his hand out to the blond.

He stared at the hand and smirked a little, “You are aware that the person in a higher position of authority should be the first to extend their hand, be it the interviewer for your new job or when you’re meeting your future in-laws.”

That got Makoto to quickly retract his hand. “S-Sorry!”

A small chuckle was all he gave. “And there’s mistake two. You don’t ever withdraw your hand, that’s considered rude. Always follow through with it even if you make the mistake of initiating it to your superior. The third is apologizing.”

Makoto just fell still and silent. Great, first time meeting one of his new classmates and already he messed up on the introductions. The blond beside him just let another chuckle and a shake of the head before continuing, “Honestly, you’re in desperate need of etiquette. How on earth are you going to survive out there after you graduate from here?”

“Hey! I’m not that bad! Besides, you haven’t really introduced yourself, that’s kind of rude on its own.”

“So, it is,” He adjusted his glasses and held out a hand. “Togami. Togami Byakuya, heir to the Togami Empire.”

The Togami Empire? Makoto just shook his hand with a small nod. “So, your Ultimate is “Ultimate Heir?” That…Doesn’t really sound much like a talent?”

“To a plebian like you, perhaps.” Byakuya ended the brief shake and picked his book up. “I earned that title after I beat out all of my siblings and ran multiple branches of the Togami Empire.” He had pride in his voice. “Well, that and as well as acquiring a massive fortune for myself that is.”

Makoto felt his eyes widen at that, he was still talking to a fellow high school student, right? There was no way someone that young could be running multiple company branches! The cocky look in Togami’s face, and the cold look in his icy blue eyes were basically enough to say ‘Try to disprove this, you can’t. You know what I say is true.’

“Now then, about you…what is your ultimate? You don’t look like much.”

“Ah! I’m Ultimate Lucky Student?”

Togami’s expression changed, he scoffed and just opened his book. “So, you’re just an average commoner, no surprise. Now then, since introductions are over, do leave me alone. I’m in a very good spot of my book and I’d rather you not interrupt me.”

Makoto looked up at the clock, the opening ceremony was going to start around eight in the morning and already it was 7:50 in the morning, would Togami even be able to finish his book by then? Well, if he took his advice and left him alone he might. That and not wanting to make his first enemy at the school on his first day, he just respected his wishes and decided to mess around on the new handbook he got. Maybe he could customize it and change the background? Maybe a new alert sound? He could do the Tardis sound right? That should be a good alarm! A new background of Voltron and the Tardis warp sound as his notification sound, and he was all set for the school year. (After making sure he read up on school’s regulation, there was no point of detention on day one as well.)

“Mic check! Testing! Testing! Can everyone hear me? Great! Let’s get this welcoming ceremony on the roll!” Came the familiar high-pitched and cheerful tone of that bear from earlier. There were a few groans in the audience, they were going to have the mascots do the ceremony? Wasn’t greeting them at the entrance hall enough? The black and bear, Monokuma, jumped out on the stage wearing a light blue suit and red bowtie. Beside him was the white bunny Usami was in a frilly pink dress and a white bow in her ear.

“Welcome students of Hope’s Peak Academy! I see we’re all getting along well, it’s so wonderful to see the new generation of Hope all gathered here today. As some of you already know, I am Student Representative Monokuma, here to represent Class 78-A! And with me is…” he nodded to Usami.

“Magical Miracle Girl Usami! Here to represent Class 77-B with hope and love!” The bunny cheered. “Now, as you probably read from your acceptance letter; not only are you here for education, you’re also here to inspire hope across the world! And what better way than to introduce you to the Hope’s Peak Coexist Program! What’s the Coexist Program you ask? It’s as the name suggests, you are going to be living here on campus taking care of each other!”

That definitely got some reactions. It seemed as though most of the students were on board with it. After all, showing unity was a great way to inspire hope! Of course, some of the others were a little iffy, they weren’t sure how this was going to benefit anyone. Then you had Togami who definitely wasn’t impressed in the slightest bit.

“Pardon for speaking out, but I did not agree to come to this institution just to take care of someone who has the bird flu.” Togami called to the mascots.

Monokuma was the one who replied. “Well you don’t have to, Mr. Noble Blood! Because in Class 77-B, there’s an ultimate nurse! Anyone with this bird flu will be in good hands with Miss Mikan! So, you don’t have. Have. Have. Have. Have.” The bear kept repeating ‘Have’ nonstop. Usami tapped him, that just made it worse. “Haaave5Tj*:duF” it kept making clicking and jibberish noises.

One student got up and rushed to the stage. “No! No!” She quickly turned the bear off. “Oh, you were working so well yesterday.” The student turned and bowed apologetically to the class. “Sorry everyone, Monokuma was working fine yesterday. My name is Chihiro Fujisaki, um…I guess I’ll just turn the mic over to Headmaster Kirigiri.” She said weakly.

There were a few applause in the audience as Fujisaki left the stage and let the headmaster take the stand in Monokuma’s place. Usami left the stage and took the inactive Monokuma behind the curtains, to give the man some more room. “Ahem, carrying on where our beloved mascots left off. Your skills are more than what you give them credit for, and thus, as with all of our previous classes, The Hope’s Peak Coexist Program is the perfect way to give more meaning to them. You will be taking care of each other in more than one way; health, school work, even to community service. I know not a lot of you are too thrilled for such a program to be enforced here, but I guarantee you that by the end of the first semester everyone will be seeing each other as a second family. So please, think of your life here as something more than just a school life, but as a second home with new family members. That is all for today’s welcome, let’s all work together for a brighter future here!”

As the headmaster left the stage, the students slowly stood up and followed suit, leaving the gym and back into the hall. Life was definitely going to be different in these walls, but, despite things being different Makoto was certain that life here was going to be an experience. Already he couldn’t wait to start the day tomorrow, and he hadn’t even made it to his new dorm yet!


	2. First Day of School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of school NEVER goes to plan, not even for the Ultimate Lucky Student

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a rather long one to write, to be honest I'm glad I just got it done.
> 
> Few things: 1. Yes, I added a new tag and yes Makoto Naegi is going to obtain a baby dragon. Long story short; I was joking with some friends about baby dragons and what would happen if Makoto had one, it was three in the morning...Yeah, I'm going through with it in a later chapter.  
> 2\. I'm sorry, but Teruteru Hanamura's entire character was basically being a perverted ass. Now, I am always willing to admit I'm wrong. If anyone can disprove this in anyway, maybe I was wrong about Island Mode (Hadn't even gotten there yet, just heard from a friend), another game, another source. Just let me know in the comments and I will be sure to polish him in future chapters.
> 
> In any case, enjoy this chapter!  
> -Mod Panda

“Good morning everybody, it is now seven a.m. and nighttime is officially over. Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beautiful day!” Came Monokuma’s cheerful voice.

Makoto groaned and threw his blankets over his head as the morning announcement came on. In the short week he had in the school to get used to his surroundings; finding his classes, getting his textbooks and uniforms, etc. he was still not used to being forcefully awaken by that annoying creepy bear greeting the morning and the students. With a sigh, he finally kicked the covers off and made his way to the closet where his uniforms were. He was so damn tired, he wanted to go back to bed and curl up in the warmth and snuggle into the cloud like mattress! But, he had his duties to do as a student at this school, and that meant he had to suck it up and push forward through the tiredness. Maybe a quick splash of cold water would do the trick? Nighttime was over so the water should be turned back on. He dragged himself to the bathroom and fought with the door to get it open. A quick brush of his teeth, splash of the cold water in his face and he was awake to start the day, all that was left was to get dressed up and meet with the other students at the dining hall for breakfast. They had that ultimate cook Hanamura taking care of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to try some of those world class dishes. Wonder what was going to be served today? French toast? Pancakes? Maybe a fruit salad? So many choices out there! Now even more awake than ever, Makoto hurried out the bathroom and rushed to grab his room key off the side table, his excitement caused him to just swing the door open without paying attention and almost slamming said door into someone’s face…

“What the hell?!” came that familiar icy voice from the gym.

Makoto paled and shrank away from him, “S-Sorry Togami, I didn’t know you were out here.”

The blond brushed his suit off and narrowed his eyes at the smaller student. “Your room had better be on fire for the sudden burst like that.”

“No…I guess I got a little too excited for breakfast.” Makoto bowed his head to him apologetically. “I’m really sorry for nearly slamming the door into you.”

“You just enjoy making problems for yourself, don’t you?” Togami crossed his arms. “How do you propose on making this up? You did just slam your door into my face after all.”

Makoto froze up and inwardly panicked. “I’ll…I’ll do your homework for a week-!”

Togami scoffed at that. “Are you trying to ruin my image? Why would I want someone with average grades transfer that over to mine?” he shook his head. “No, you’re going to be my secretary for a week, starting today. Oh, and when I say ‘You’re my secretary’ I mean you’ll be doing more than fetching coffee for me.” He held Makoto’s shoulder and guided him to the kitchen. Makoto silently scolded himself, it was officially the first day of class, and he probably made an enemy for himself here already.

Once inside the dining hall, Togami gave Makoto a gentle shove towards the line of students waiting for breakfast. “Go pick something out for us, make sure it’s something at least edible.”

Makoto looked up at him confused. “But, it’s Hanamura’s cooking. He’s the ultimate chef?”

“I could care less if it’s cooking from a five-star hotel. Don’t just grab anything without thinking, now hurry up, I’ll be waiting.”  
Makoto still wasn’t sure what Togami meant by that, the only thing he could think of was probably don’t get something as greasy as bacon. Still a complicated order, but, he was determined to get something that they would enjoy nonetheless. Most of the students had their dishes so it was just Makoto and Hanamura in the end. The student in question shook his head, he saw the exchange and he knew that Togami’s tastes were high quality.

“Just pick somethin’ for yourself. I have Togami’s set to the side.”

“You already knew what he wanted?” Makoto asked in disbelief.

“I had the privilege of catering to one of his company’s branches, small office party, so I know what his tastes were. What on earth did you do to get him riled up?” Hanamura was getting a plate prepared for Makoto. “I mean, it’s no chore to get under his skin, he’s like a spitting cobra, but you still had to have done somethin’ to get him forcing you to get breakfast for him.”

Makoto had a light blush at that. “I almost slammed a door in his face. I got excited to start my first day of class with the other ultimates that I wasn’t paying attention.” He took both plates from the young chef.

Hanamura just stared at him in amazement. “Ignoring the fact, you almost slammed a door in someone’s face, I don’t think I’ve heard anyone except Ishimaru excited to start school. You know it’s probably going to be just the same like any other old school, right? What makes going to school with people like us any different?”

“I mean, in a way, you guys are celebrities.” Makoto pointed out. “Just imagine going to school with a famous person, of course you’d be excited.”

Hanamura had a contemplative look on his face, “The only celebrities here would be Togami, obviously.” He had a grin forming. “And of course, that pop sensation Maizono, Asahina as well, of course there’s also Enoshima and of course we can’t forget our beloved princess Sonia…Okay, I can see where you’re coming from Naegi. I’m pretty excited to start the day with those four.”

Four? He listed off five celebrities? But wait, Fukawa was a novelist so she’s a celebrity, and there was Kuwata who was in baseball leagues. Why weren’t those two listed alongside of- It dawned on him, and Makoto was close to jumping the table to tackle Hanamura. He shook his head in total disgust and just silently made his way over to the table Togami was sitting at. The blond in question looked over him with a mix of annoyance and concern written on his face.

“What is with you and making an enemy out of everyone today?” He demanded.

“I’m not making an enemy out of everyone!” Makoto protested.

“Alright, what exactly happened when you were getting us breakfast?” Togami took the plate handed to him.

Makoto sat down and poked at his own food. “Well, we had a normal conversation.” He started off. “When I pointed out that you and everyone here were like celebrities, he started listing off people with said status, mostly the girls.” He muttered. “Well, mostly Maizono, Asahina, Enoshima, and Sonia. Specifically, the ones you’d see on cover magazines. He mentioned you too, but he had a frown on his face at the mention of you.”

“So, you’re jealous?”

Makoto shook his head. “His nose was starting to bleed as he was listing off the girls, and he wasn’t being subtle in the least.” He shuddered.

That caused Togami to nearly choke on his food. “What the hell?” Makoto had his full attention. “Alright, so he’s a creep big deal.”

“It is a big deal! Maizono is my friend from school, I’ll be damned if that creep goes near her!”

Togami laid a hand on Makoto’s shoulder. “Volume, don’t bring attention to us.” He waited until Makoto settled himself before continuing. “Look, he’s in another class than us, he’s not going to bother any of our girls. Now, before you start bringing up the girls in his class, look.” He moved Makoto’s head to class 77-B. “They have the Ultimate swordswoman, gymnast, team coach, and of course ultimate mafia. The girls are probably capable of handling themselves. Don’t give it another thought. Now kindly, keep your head on straight and just shut up.”

Togami did have a point. If you have someone who’s the head of a mafia in your class as well as having people in the athletic field, no one would be stupid to try messing with them. Still, Hanamura was a creep, and Makoto was pretty glad that he wasn’t in his class. Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he just went back to eating his breakfast. Now wasn’t the time to worry about someone like him anyway, they were in two separate classes and he had to focus on his own studies. Once breakfast was over, Makoto was carrying Togami’s things as well as his own to homeroom, the exciting part was starting a new class and the only downside would be being Togami’s pack mule. Still, he was going to do what he can to push forward with his head held up high.

*** * ***

And that was the worst mistake he ever made. Whoever said that gardening was going to be easy deserved a slap to the face. Makoto already found himself face first in the mud while tending to one of the beds, got picked at by the chickens while feeding them, gardening was the worst class out there. Togami was no help either, then again, he did agree to take over Togami’s portion of this class as that apparently was part of the secretary job. Makoto was trying to juggle the gardening tools, chicken feed, and even plant food (Even it’s ominous sounding with ‘Blood Feed’ written down); the sight alone made Togami shook his head at the sight of the boy struggling to balance them and opening the tool shed at the same time.

“You know, you could make this easier on yourself.” Togami called out. “I can take some of those tools if you want?”

“I got this!” Makoto called back.

“You’re just making it harder on yourself.” Togami walked over and reached for the plant food. “Look, don’t even fret about it, your job is just to carry my books and that’s that.” He adjusted his grip on the bag. “Doing my school work is not your job.” He opened the door for him. “I already told you, I don’t want your mediocre grades affecting mine. Now go put the equipment away and go wash up, there might be bath salts in the bathhouse you can use. Seriously you’re going to need said salts.”

Well, in a weird way, Togami was considerate about Makoto’s well-being, and he even took some of the workload off him in the process. That was probably going to be the rare one-time only thing from the heir. Deciding not to linger on the thought anymore than he needed to, Makoto started putting the tools away before stepping aside to let others put away their stuff. He wiped the sweat from his brow one final time before leaving the gardens, making his way down the stairs to the first-floor dormitories to take the well needed bath. The only problem with the bath was that there were no girls or boys’ side and the entire thing was communal like their dorm life assigned to them. Now he was stuck with a tough choice; did he ignore Togami’s advice with the bath salts in the bathhouse and go to the shower in his room, or did he take a chance and risk walking in with the high possibility of it being filled with women at the time? Weighing both options, he just settled with the shower in his room. He was _not_ going to risk a perverted reputation like their star chef Hanamura…Okay so he got a sneak peek with Hagakure and Yamada the one time, but that was another story all together! It was just a glance and nothing more, it wasn’t like they took nude pictures to get off on! And hearing himself say this in his mind, it sounded like an excuse Hanamura would make if he were to get caught doing the same thing. Now he was shuddering from the mental image. He was going to have to scrub that feeling along with the dirt and grime from class, this school was insane and it was only the first day of class!

Makoto sighed and let the hot water from his shower rush over him, at least this was something that brought some relaxation after a long day of class. Yeah, he had homework as to be expected and cause him some stress, but right now he just wanted some form of quiet, even if it was just a quick shower. Turning the water off and drying himself down, he got into his casual wear and made his way into the hall, making sure to be careful when opening the door; no need to tack on another week of carrying things for Togami because he almost hit him again. While this time he was careful, he did run into someone, literally! He backed off to see who it was, with a small sigh of relief it wasn’t Togami but instead his old schoolmate Maizono.

“Oh! Maizono! Sorry about that.” He bowed his head to her.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t entirely paying attention myself.” She smiled brightly at her. “How are you adjusting to the school?” She asked as they walked to the dining hall together.

“Well, I managed to become a pack mule to Togami for a week today. But aside from that, I actually like it here! What about you?” he looked up at her.

Maizono gave a small giggle. “It’s something. I just came back from music actually and it was fun! We were actually learning to perform on the piano and it was a sight seeing some people trying to read notes. Soda compared it to reading Chinese!” she started laughing harder now. “He nearly threw the music sheet into the trash and stormed out if Mioda hadn’t stepped in to help.”

“Really? Is note reading that hard?” Makoto was surprised to hear that.

“Almost, it takes a little patience to learn the scales.” Maizono stopped with him in line. “What about you, what class did you just finish?”

“Gardening, I got attacked by chickens and fell in the mud a few times.” Makoto admitted with a blush. “I actually just got out of the shower.”

“So that’s why you smell like oranges.” She smiled. “Are you sitting with Togami again like at breakfast?”

“Probably, but I’m sure he won’t mind if you sat with us.” Makoto assured. “I mean, he’s not much for conversation and he’s probably going to ignore us as he read and indulge in his food so you and I can catch up.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

Sounds like a plan indeed. Makoto was jumping over the moon at this point, he got to catch up with an old friend and have lunch with her (as well as keeping Hanamura away from her, but that was a small detail.) Like before he got his own lunch from the small buffet laid out before the school and taking a premade plate for Togami and lead Maizono to the table where the heir was waiting for him. Makoto handed him the plate and sat across from him and sitting beside Maizono. Togami looked up from his book at the two and raised an eyebrow before speaking.

“Why yes Naegi, of course you can bring a friend over to my table, how very considerate of you to ask.” He said, annoyance clear in his voice.

Makoto tensed up and paled a little. “I…figured since you usually read, you wouldn’t really mind.”

“You know what they say about assuming.” Togami shook his head. “Honestly Miss Maizono, how you managed to survive a school year with him is beyond my understanding.”

Maizono looked at Togami and tilted her head confused. “What do you mean? Makoto was a star student back at out old school?”

Togami scoffed. “Star student? I would have never guessed.” He stood up and took his plate. “You two play nice, I’ll be taking lunch in my room tonight. Naegi, I expect you to show up to collect the plate when you’re done here.” And with that he left before another word was said.

Makoto couldn’t help but to flinch at the tone Togami had. Something in his gut told him that he just pissed off the ultimate heir and that he was probably going to have a hitman take him out in the dead of night and his body was going to be dropped into the harbor. So much for the first day of class here at Hope’s Peak Academy.


	3. Halloween Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween is a time for spooks, costumes, treats, and even surprises around every corner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took a while to finish. It's been a real heavy week for this beloved Panda, let's leave it at that. 
> 
> And true I may be early for Halloween, but you know what? I don't care, I just wanted to get this chapter made! Besides, we still have a whole year worth of shenanigans to go through!
> 
> A few things: There's really no order. Now this does NOT mean I'm jumping around as I please; Holiday & Birthday chapters will be in their respected months. While there are gaps, everything is tied together. Think of it like Silent Hill, 1 and 3 are connected, 4 and 2 are somewhat connected with walter sulliven. However unlike silent hill, i will be giving you the readers closure on the final chapter.

Fall was here and most of the students were outside enjoying the crisp and cool autumn air, playing in the leaves, and all out just relaxing from the stuffy life of being an academy student. Days like this were perfect as fall meant the following; pumpkin spiced everything or Halloween. And both were revered enough to get the Hope’s Peak students in the playful mood to distract them from any ‘nasty icky homework’ as Usami would put it, after all everyone was working so hard lately that they needed a break and what better way than to let the students play in the leaves for a few hours. Well, most of the students were outside except Togami and Kuzuryuu. Togami, no doubt, had no reason to be playing outside in the leaves with the other students, what would be the point in rolling around on the ground and getting dirt over him? If he wanted to enjoy a day without work, he’d rather spend it in the library’s archives reading about unsolved murders. Kuzuryuu on the other hand, he was sort of the lone wolf type of person, but the others have seen him walking by the windows watching them from a distance or even walking around the school grounds, kicking a leaf up or two. It was clear he wanted to join in but, as Fujisaki had once described during gym class when he was changing with the other boys; ‘He might be shy, let’s not push him into activities he doesn’t want to do.’ Makoto couldn’t agree more, after all, that kid was the heir to the Kuzuryuu clan and he didn’t want to piss another person off by mistake, he learned that from his week with Togami. Once or twice if he caught Kuzuryuu out lurking outside Makoto would wave to him and only once he got a wave back.

Still, having days like this were the best. Calm and peace. No homework. No stress. Just relaxing days, well relaxing save for Kuwata’s game of ‘Leaf Wrestling’ (it was basically Kuwata sneaking up on some poor fool and yelling ‘leaf wrestling’ before pouncing them into the pile of leaves). The only ones who took Kuwata up on that were the athletic ones like Owada or Nidai, and seeing those three tangled up in the leaves were a photo opportunity for the yearbook in the making. All that was missing was a fall themed dance! The thought alone made Makoto laughed to himself, if a dance was going to happen, Hope’s Peak would make it a point to be formal. No flashy outfits or glowsticks aloud in the gym, chances were that he was going to be in his room that night playing video games or reading comic books while the event went on through the night. As if reading his mind, a familiar cheerful voice rang through the courtyard, Monokuma took to the stand.

“Ahem! Hope’s Peak Academy Staff has an announcement to make. Hello everyone! The fun time you’ve all been waiting for is about to begin! Due to the wonderful weather we’re going to be having for an entire week, maybe even longer, we’re going to be having an outdoor Halloween dance! Of course, this won’t be any old boring dance you’re bound to find in an ordinary public school, I’m talking about a Masquerade Ball! And being here at Hope’s Peak, you are bound to have a show stopper with masks, costumes, mystery, and possibly even anonymous romance! Did I mention a Pumpkin King and Queen and that this is lasting until midnight?” Monokuma gave his famous laugh before he continued his announcement.

“Now then, leading up to this event you will be given a list of potential candidates who may or may not become your new Halloween rulers, please circle who you want to be your Pumpkin King in red and your Pumpkin Queen in black.” The bear made a point to throw leaves like he was at a wedding or a coronation. “Remember, this is all in good spirits and fun; so, vote two boys, two girls, or a guy and girl, we want you to have a memorable night here!” He stopped when his small bucket of leaves was gone before sitting back in his chair and grabbing a mask to wear.

“Of course, seeing as this is a masked ball, masks are an absolute requirement otherwise what’s the point of having a Halloween Dance? So! No mask, no entry! If you want to dance without a mask, do so in your room. And for the love of all things unholy, be original with your costume! I’m talking to you Ultimate Imposter; don’t think you can walk in claiming to be another student. We both know what happened the last time you tried impersonating Mr. Togami and the staff does NOT want to deal with another hit man on the premise. So, no dressing like another student! Ah, that’s all for this announcement. We’ll let you go back to playing in the leaves, have a good afternoon everyone!” And with that, the screen went black, and the students were left in a daze.

A dance outdoors? That sounded like it would be fun! Makoto looked over to some of his classmates who were talking about what they would do to contribute to it, be it music or decorations. Fujisaki mentioned about a fog machine he could get to use for a Halloween dance as well, that was the part that got everyone even more excited. Makoto got up and hurried to the dining hall where he saw Tanaka feeding pumpkin seeds to his Four Dark Devas of Destructions at one of the tables and the Ultimate Chef getting some cider made for the others when they came back inside, humming a tune while he did so. As Hanamura was getting the cups out he froze in surprise when he saw Makoto walk in.

“You’re in quite early.” He noted. “Kuwata’s roughhousing got too much?”

Makoto shook his head. “Nah, I actually came in to see if you needed an extra hand around the kitchen.” he took a small inhale of air. “So, how long until the apple cider is ready?”

“Not too long, it just needs to sit for a few. As for helping around the kitchen, am I safe to assume it’s for the upcoming dance?” He asked as he was setting the cups in neat rows.

“Well that, and I was wondering if you had a pumpkin I could have? I was going to put a Jack-o-lantern in my window for Halloween, the stores ran out and I thought I bought an electric one only to be proven wrong.” Makoto admitted sheepishly.

“I do have some, but I was told to set some aside for Halloween night.” Hanamura tapped his chin. “Which is troubling for me, because I had quite a menu prepared for the party too, and I am short on some myself.” He snapped his fingers in realization. “It’s still Saturday! Makoto, we’re going to the patch together! Come on!”

And that was how Makoto found himself in a pumpkin patch with a wheelbarrow with Hanamura. The entire field was packed with families looking for a pumpkin to carve back home, the sight alone made Makoto smile as the children ran around playing tag and other various games while the parents did the pumpkin hunting. Hanamura would inspect the ones before him before carefully picking out the ones he deemed worthy to cook with while Makoto just walked around looking for a decent sized gourd. Of course, luck wasn’t entirely on his side, every time he thought he found a pumpkin the right size for his room, someone always beat him to it. Being the kind to never give up, he pushed on further and further away from the others and over to where the bigger ones were. Well, the ones big enough to crawl in and sleep in if one wanted to. Okay, so they were on the huge side, but there was always the sliver of hope that there was a small one around. And that was the mind set he had as he walked around the giant pumpkins staring in marvel at the size of them. If they were in an American County Fair these would no doubt win a blue ribbon! Or was it a red ribbon?

“Ack!”

Makoto landed face first after tripping over a vine. Sitting upright, he was face to face with a glowing green rock. Wait…a glowing green rock? Without thinking he grabbed it and picked it up to get a better look at the strange anomaly; smooth to the touch, light iridescent speckles covering the green shell. It was an egg! What was something like this doing all the way out here and what the hell laid this thing? Deciding to ask the Ultimate Breeder later, Makoto removed his hoodie and covered the egg up before rushing back to Hanamura’s side.

“Hanamura! Hanamura I found something-!”

“That’s nice Naegi.” The chef turned to face him. “We’re good to go, and I found a cute little pumpkin for you. It’s perfect for what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks, but look!” he moved the sleeve and showed the glowing egg to him. “It was laying among the giant pumpkins further out!”

“Forget pumpkins, this is quite the discovery! We need to bring this back to the school”

*** * ***

“So, do you know what it is?” Makoto asked.

After bringing the pumpkins and the strange egg to the school, Makoto and Hanamura wasted no time in tracking down Tanaka to learn about their discovery. The breeder in question gave a small hum and looked it over in the light before setting it back in Makoto’s sweater.

“The obvious answer is that you found an egg.” He said with a minor annoyed tone. “As to what kind of egg this is, I can’t tell you, for it is a mystery even to me.”

“Well can you at least tell us if it’s a bird egg or a lizard egg?” Hanamura pressed on.

“Where exactly did I lose you? I told you that I don’t know.” Tanaka rubbed the bridge of his nose as he made his way to his books. “I haven’t seen something like this in any of the ancient texts.” He took one out and flipped through the pages. “It’s going to take some digging into the unknown for answers.”

Makoto nodded and held the egg close. “Well, whatever it is…I’m keeping it.”

Tanaka looked up at him, paused in his page flipping. “You don’t know what laid it or about its origins and you wish to keep it? You are a foolish mortal for sure, Naegi. But,” he smiled lightly. “Admirable, I won’t lie. You certainly have skills needed to venture into the unknown. Now then, you two go ready yourselves for the festivities, I will be here trying to figure out the origins of the unknown egg.”

Makoto left the room and returned to his, he carefully balanced the egg in one arm as he unlocked his own dorm. Once in and flicking the switch on, he was greeted to the decorations he laid out; cobwebs on the corners of the room, black and orange streamers circling the ceiling, a fake skeleton sitting at the desk, and even a cute little bat on a ceiling hook. His room looked like it was hosting a modest Halloween slumber party. Which is what he was aiming for after all, there was no need to turn his room into the haunted mansion, that would take too long to clean up. He went over to his desk and sat the egg and sweater down in front of the skeleton, he was so excited to know what it was that he was basically bouncing with joy. Heck, he was so excited he didn’t even notice a black and white bear standing beside him and bouncing in place alongside him.

“I don’t know what we’re bouncing about, but I’m having fun!” came the cheerful tone of the bear.

“Wha-!” Makoto jumped and turned to the bear. “Where did you come from!?”

“You forgot to lock your door again.” Monokuma looked up at him. “Seriously, what is it going to take for you to lock the damn thing? Anyway, that’s not what I’m here about.” He handed Makoto a sheet of paper. “You’re the only student who hadn’t vote a King and Queen yet.”

Oh. Right. The Halloween Royalty. Makoto took the paper and dug out the two-color pens from his desk to circle with. Monokuma took this time to sit on the desk and looked at the sweater. “So, what do you have that’s making you bounce with joy?”

“Be careful-!” Makoto moved the sweater away and held it close. “I found a possible rare egg. Tanaka hasn’t figured out the origins yet so-”

“You decided to keep it.” Monokuma finished. “Well, whatever. It’s your finding, I guess it’s fine. Just make sure that egg doesn’t get in between your studies.”

Makoto set it down on the desk again and quickly circled two names; Sayaka Maizono for the queen and Leon Kuwata for the king before handing it back to the bear. “Don’t worry, I won’t let it distract me.”

He let the egg distract him from his studies.

The rest of the week was him struggling to pay attention in his classes. His mind was occupied on his discovery and what the end result would be, granted he would get scolded at by the teachers when he was caught daydreaming instead of taking notes. This did get him some unwanted attention by his classmates such as Togami and Tanaka. Tanaka was understandable, he was silently telling Makoto he still didn’t know by shaking his head at him. But Togami, well, the last time he got his attention was when he was in trouble for something. Actually, due to the whole coexist thing, Togami made it his role to be in charge of keeping everyone in line so to get in trouble in class would mean having to deal with the young heir.

“Once again, it appears I have to take care of you Naegi.” Togami’s sharp voice pierced through the library they were in. “What has your feeble mind occupied this time around?”

Makoto fell silent. He didn’t want the others to know about his findings until Tanaka could provide a solid answer, to say something like “I found a new bird egg” wouldn’t fly at this point. “Oh uh…Just excited about the upcoming dance?”

Togami gave a small scoff at that. “You and everyone else in this school.” He turned back to his homework. “Just focus on your studies and catch up and we won’t have to escalate the punishment.”

“Right.” Makoto went to transcribing his notes and forcing himself to do his homework. “So, uh who did you vote for the Halloween royalty?”

“Why would I reveal my vote to you? You’re not to know until midnight tonight.” Togami reminded. “That is if you finish in time.”

Makoto inwardly groaned, Togami was starting to sound more like a strict parent than a schoolmate at this point. “Okay, well what’s your costume going to be?”

“Naegi, focus.” Togami looked up and locked eyes with him, causing Makoto to flinch under his gaze.

The rest of the night in the library was just tension upon tension. Togami wasn’t letting Makoto have a shred of peace, any time the boy showed signs of distraction he made it a point to drag him back to earth with a loud bang of a book hitting the desk or even snapping his fingers by his ears. Togami was a harsh tutor, but this was punishment for spacing out in class after class. The saving grace was getting finished before seven when the party began, he had plenty of time to get into his costume-a black cat, depending where you are, the black cat is actually a symbol of luck! A fitting costume for his ultimate if he did say so himself. Straightening out his mask and the ears, he looked himself over in the bathroom mirror. Black spandex, tail tied around, and the black ears sitting on top of his head. He looked pretty good. Wishing himself luck he made his way out of the dorm and to the party where everyone else would be at.

In Makoto’s books, you knew a party was going to be good when Maizono was in charge of the music. She always alternated between having a song from a premade playlist and even performing live, the times she performed live varied but one thing’s for certain, she almost always went with a slow song that always made the couples dance. Makoto smiled up at the witch at the computer and waved to her, trying to get her attention. Looking up to see him, Maizono left her station and hurried over to Makoto to hug him.

“I’m so glad you finally showed up, I was getting a little worried since you had to do after school tutoring with Togami.” She backed off and looked over Makoto’s costume. “Celeste made you dress in that, didn’t she?”

Makoto puffed his chest out with pride. “Actually no, I picked it out because in some places of the world the black cat is considered lucky. I picked it because of my ultimate.”

Maizono giggled a little. “You’re not the only one who dressed as their ultimate, Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama are dressed as American gangsters Bonnie and Clyde.” She pointed them out by the cider. “And Kirigiri is a Sherlock Holmes.”

He would be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed. “And you’re a witch, I was expecting you to dress as an angel.”

That got Maizono to laugh. “It’s Halloween, not Christmas silly! Besides, my shows can be pretty bewitching!” A terrible joke but a good one that got both parties laughing. Maizono looked over to the computer as a song was about to end. “Hey, you go have fun, I have to get back to performing.” A quick hug before she ran to the stage.

Makoto smiled and went over to the crowd to mingle a little with his classmates as well as going after some of the treats that Hanamura had made and laid out for everyone. He kept a sharp ear out on some of the conversations going on between classmates; Ikusaba and Tsumiki were dressed as Sailor Scouts and playfully teasing each other ‘One of us is going to have to change now,’ ‘But we’re different planets! Jupiter and Moon!’ Then there was Fujisaki and Ishimaru trying to help Owada with his hair to get the hood part down. Curious as is, he went over to the three to see what was going on.

“Seriously Bro, how the hell do you even get your hair like this!” Ishimaru complained as he flattened it.

“A lot of hair spray, I didn’t think it would cause a problem with the costume” The costume was a dark purple to near black suit, a silver mask that covered his head and face [well it would cover the head if Owada’s pompadour would stay down and not stick up every three seconds], he had a butterfly broach and a cane that doubled as a sword. A masked wrestler that doubled a sword fighter?

“Uh Owada?” Makoto voiced. “What exactly is your costume, I’m confused.”

Fujisaki pouted after finally getting the mask over Owada’s head. “Supposedly he’s a Hawk Moth?”

“Excuse you, I’m not the insect.” Owada said. “I’m the villain from Miraculous Ladybug.”

“Righ.” Fujisaki nodded. “We got bored and messed around online and found the show, and we actually liked it. So Owada is the villain.” He turned to face Makoto, he only had half a white mask on and a black suit and hat.

“And Fujisaki here is the Phantom of the Opera, while Ishimaru is…a rabbit. Not sure what’s special about his.”

Ishimaru gave a look of disbelief. “I’m from Alice in Wonderland! The white rabbit she chases after?”

“Right you’re the only other person who actually reads the books assigned to us.”

Makoto looked confused. “Uh, I read the books too?” he voiced out. “Also, who’s this other person you mentioned?”

“Komaeda, he’s dressed as Mr. Hyde from Jekyll and Hyde.” Fujisaki cleared up. “Though, technically I could be from a book myself since the Phantom of the Opera started as a book. I did my book report on it on the first week, remember? Our first assignment in Literature was to do a book report on anything we want?”

How could he forget. He did his on the Hunger Games. The assignment was a book report but you had to also do a project about it, he went with a simple poster advertising the next games. He ended with a B on that assignment, he had points docked for playing the safe game with his poster idea where as everyone had models and a scene redraw or something to that degree.

“Seems like everyone put a lot of thought into their costumes.” Makoto pointed out as he nodded to the other students.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Owada shrugged. “So, uh, just between us, who did you vote for Halloween King?”

“Owada you can’t just ask that!” Ishimaru protested. “It’s supposed to be a secret!”

“It’s fine Ishimaru, I voted for Kuwata since you know he’s kind of one of the popular kids.” Makoto admitted.

“Really?” Fujisaki asked. “I voted for Togami as King.”

Ishimaru coughed and looked away, “Bro and I both voted for him.” he reluctantly admitted.

“He’s not going to be so happy when his name is called, we kind of convinced most of our classmates to vote him in as a small payback for the harsh tutor sessions he gives us after class and his forceful wake up calls.” Owada added.

So as far as he knew, Togami had the votes of the fifteen students in his class. The only ones he wasn’t certain about were class 77 and who they voted for the Halloween royalty. Still, this entire party was going to be for the yearbook and it was just for silly fun in the end. That much was evident with Koizumi being not only the Ultimate Photographer, but also the head of the yearbook committee, and said fox was walking around with a camera taking pictures of memorable moments (Such Kuwata as a cupid of some kind aiming an arrow at Kuzuryuu and Pekoyama), even some group pictures of friends having a good time (Ogami, Asahina, Owari, and Sonia gathered by a set of pumpkins with a drink in hand). There were probably some shots like where Makoto and Maizono were laughing by the stage. So, even if Togami did win the title of Halloween King, he was certain the young heir would at least humor his classmates and pose for pictures with whoever was voted in as queen. Though, he had a feeling it would either be Maizono or Enoshima as those two were celebrities in their own way, with one being an idol and one being a fashionista.

“You boys aren’t going to dance?” Enoshima walked over to the four, dressed as a…very sexy angel. “Seriously, what gives?”

Ishimaru cleared his throat. “We were helping Owada with his costume is all.”

“I’m just waiting for the right song.” Makoto shyly admitted.

Enoshima crossed her arms. “Honestly, I’ll never understand you Naegi.” Her disappointed frown turned to a grin. “So, that right song…is it a slow song by any chance? Waiting to ask a pretty lady to dance?”

Makoto blushed at that. “What-?! No, I’m just waiting for the right party song is all. L-Like Time Warp! You know Time Warp? Rocky Horror Picture Show?”

She just laughed. “Did you know you start rambling when you’re flustered? It’s adorable! Too bad most of the girls are off limits, someone has their eyes on you for the first slow song.” She covered her mouth. “Oops, did I say that out loud? Silly me! That was suppose to be a secret~ Anyway, I’m going to get Mikan to dance with me, you boys should start getting to the dance floor.”

That just left Makoto in a confused daze, just what on earth was that about? He looked to the three boys by him and they even shrugged in confusion. Enoshima was a confusing girl at times, so it was hard to take what she said at face value. Plus, with it being Halloween a time of mischief it made it even harder for anyone to take what she says seriously. Owada just told Makoto to leave it be and not to dwell on it too long to which he agreed. Deciding to kill a little more time, Makoto decided to get a glass of cider at the concession stand as well as to get an update from Hanamura about Tanaka’s findings. The frog prince was chatting up some of the other party goers as he was handing out glasses and pumpkin spiced treats to them, wishing them a Happy Halloween, his eyes widened with delight when he saw Makoto walk up to him.

“They say misfortune comes to those if a black cat cross paths with a person.” Hanamura jested.

“Ah, but in some parts of the world it’s the opposite. Good luck comes from a black cat.” Makoto grinned. “But, uh did you talk to Tanaka?”

“He was here earlier for pumpkin seeds for his hamsters.” Hanamura confirmed. “I did ask about the egg, and he’s still searching. Sorry Naegi.”

“It’s fine.” He assured. “Besides, I’m mostly here for a nice warm glass of cider. I’m freezing in this costume.”

“You’re in a full body suit, how are you even cold?” Hanamura asked with disbelief as he handed a cup to the cat.

Makoto took it and shivered slightly. “It’s mostly spandex, I don’t think it warms up a person well enough.” He whined. “Trade you costumes?”

Hanamura shook his head. “You made your bed cher, you’re sleeping in it. I’m staying in my nice warm frog costume. Besides, the more you dance, the more your body warms up.” He said in a sultry tone. “That way the cold autumn air won’t bother you no matter what you wear.”

“And this is where I slowly back away and pretend I didn’t hear you.” Makoto backed off with his drink and opting to sit on a bench with it.

Shortly after, someone else came to sit beside him with a treat of their own. Dressed in a gold vest over a white button up shirt, black pants with black spit polished shoes, on top of his head was a gold hat. The mask he wore was grey with some sequence gems on it. Whatever the costume was certainly looked dapper, a few other details he noticed was the ears were pointy to give some inhuman look to it. The two just sat in silence for a while as the songs changed, Maizono was on the stage performing a cover to get the students dancing. It worked, save for the two, but in their defense, they were catching their breaths and enjoying treats.

“So, is that a good roll?” Makoto asked pointing to the plate.

The masked figure just nodded, keeping quiet.

“Are you going to dance soon?” Makoto asked him again.

A silent nod.

“Do you have a cold? Is something wrong with your throat that you can’t really talk?”

The figure took out his phone and typed something before showing it to Makoto. To which it read **“The whole point of a masked party is to not know who the other is. It helps keep the mystery going.”**

That was one statement Makoto couldn’t really argue with. The two stayed in that silence before the song ended and Maizono announced the first slow song. Most everyone immediately got a partner; Tsumiki with Enoshima, Asahina and Sakura, Owada and Ishimaru taking turns with Fujisaki. Makoto smiled at the scene as the song played, he even nodded along to the words

 **Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin**  
**Dance me through the panic till I’m gathered safely in**  
**Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove**  
**Dance me to the end of love**  
**Dance me to the end of love**

The masked figure got up and tapped Makoto’s shoulder before holding his hand out in silent invitation to which he just looked up at the masked figure in silent confusion. A small impatient grab was the only reply Makoto got. It looked like he was dancing. The song progressed on, and the masked student and Makoto were pressed close to each other. A hand on the black cat’s waist while the other hand held his hand, as the student moved Makoto to the music. Makoto was a light pink from this, whoever he was dancing with was graceful in dancing that a few times he had to look down to make sure he wasn’t stepping on his partner, the very partner that would gently lift his chin up so their eyes would meet. Behind their masks, Makoto’s hazel eyes looking into those light icy blue eyes, to him he felt like he was dancing with royalty.

 **Oh, let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone**  
**Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon**  
**Show me slowly what I only know the limits of**  
**Dance me to the end of love**  
**Dance me to the end of love**

A small chuckle came from the figure as he twirled Makoto once and pulled him back close to his chest. It felt as if time stood still between them. So much so, that the others stopped and let the two take the dance floor. Despite not knowing who his partner was, he completely trusted them in taking control of the dance between them. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his partner’s chest, listening to his heartbeat thud in time with the rhythm of the dance.

 **Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin**  
**Dance me through the panic till I’m gathered safely in**  
**Touch me with your naked hand or touch me with your glove**  
**Dance me to the end of love**  
**Dance me to the end of love**  
**Dance me to the end of love.**

The song ended and they parted the dance floor. Throughout the rest of the night, Makoto would dance with his friends on the upbeat tunes or chill at the snack bar with Hanamura and Owari and only show up for the slow dance with his mystery partner. It was close to midnight and the final song was ending as Monokuma took to the stage with an envelope in hand.

“Whoo! Talk about a party, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to call it good after midnight!” Monokuma announced. “However, all good things have to come to an end. Sorry kiddos! But, what kind of mascot would I be without announcing your royalty for the night! So, let’s get this going, Usami, could you kindly announce who our Halloween Queen is?”

The white bunny showed up and opened her envelope. “Our queen for the evening is…” a dramatic pause. “Naegi Makoto!”

Wait what? Makoto froze a little in surprise. It was true Monokuma said that the queen could be either gender and this was just for giggles to laugh about when going down memory lane, but the fact that everyone voted him in as Halloween Queen was something he wasn’t expecting to hear.

“Come on Naegi, don’t be shy now!” Monokuma egged on.

Well, it was just for fun anyway. Makoto made his way to the stage and gave a bow to his classmates as a crown was placed on his head. Usami motioned him to stand to one side of the stage as they readied to announce the winner of the king’s title.

“And now, for Makoto’s king to rule the night with! The Winner is…” Monokuma looked at the name and just laughed. “Oh wow, sucks for you, lucky kid, your king is…Togami Byakuya!”

Togami winning wasn’t much of a surprise, that much Makoto knew. What he didn’t know was seeing Togami’s costume. The same dazzled suit of gold, white, and black. The one who was dancing with him on every slow song throughout the entire night! He felt his heart stop as Togami stood beside him wearing a crown in place of his yellow hat.

“Let’s give it up for our King and Queen!”

The school cheered and threw confetti as the two took to the stage for pictures and for a final dance of the night.

*** * ***

After an exciting night, Makoto trudged his way to his room ready to just take off his tight costume and to flop on the bed for the night. He yawned, opening the door to his room he tossed his mask and ears onto the desk and went to unzip himself out of the costume.

“Could you at least close the door as well as wait until I leave, idiot?”

Makoto jumped and looked to his bed where Tanaka was sitting with a book in his hands.

“T-Tanaka!? What are you doing in my room!”

“I originally came to leave you a note about my findings. Now that you’re here, I can tell you face to face.” Tanaka said like it was obvious.

“I mean, how- My door should have been locked!”

Tanaka scoffed. “It wasn’t. Do you always leave your door unlocked? No matter, close the door so no other mortal may listen in.”

Makoto slowly closed his door and made his way to Tanaka. The egg was sitting in a scarf being surrounded by the four hamsters that follow Tanaka everywhere he went, it was still glowing a bright blue color, so it meant it was healthy right?

“So, what did you find out?” Makoto pressed on.

“I looked through every book on lizards and birds of this realm, no such luck. So, I decided to extend my search into the unknown, another realm of existence.” He showed the page he was on. “Your findings are something remarkable as you have found no ordinary egg. You, Naegi Makoto, found a dragon’s egg!”

That was the last drain of energy he had. Finding out his dance partner was Togami, and now finding out he had a dragon’s egg. Makoto let out a sigh before collapsing on the floor, Tanaka didn’t even flinch at the sight he just stood up and took his hamsters and left the sleeping boy alone that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some of the Costumes here;
> 
> Mondo being Hawkmoth. Mondo (Game) and Gabriel share a voice  
> Mikan and Mukuro share a voice with Sailor Moon and Jupiter  
> Junko share a voice with Panty (an Angel) from Panty and Stocking  
> Sayaka shares a voice with Yukari (a Witch) from Rosario + Vampire  
> Mahiru shares a voice with Alya/Rena Rouge
> 
> The others I was going to mention but figured that would be word vomit. Perhaps another costume event I'll mention the others. We'll just have to see won't we?


	4. Danse Macabre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classical Music tends to solve the strangest of problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I found my copy of Mad Maestro (That's been scratched to hell from excessive playing and now I need to find a new one) and basically, I got back into listening to some classical music. That's it.

He felt himself nodding off. Classical music, though some were upbeat and could capture the attention of many the slower stuff just kept putting him to sleep. Not to say Makoto didn’t appreciate it, it was just hard to keep his attention focused on some of the composers that mostly performed the piano; Chopin was one that he dozed off to the most. In all honesty, he was only going through this damn CD just so he could find something that caught his attention to try performing. Music’s assignment was simple, go through a CD of classical music and pick the one you liked the most to perform to the class; originally, he wanted to do the Russian Dance from the Nutcracker but Mioda and Soda had already called dibs on it. So, he was going through the rest of the songs. Les Toreadors sounded like a safe bet, but even if he did find something…he was going to need to ask someone for help as he hadn’t really picked up an instrument in his life before (Maybe a toy piano when he was a kid, but that was just to play with on Christmas).

Makoto yawned and turned the player off before standing up. He needed to take a break unless he wanted to risk falling asleep at his desk. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way out of his room and forced himself to head to the dining hall for a quick snack. School was over so everyone was doing their own thing so that meant Hanamura wasn’t hanging around the kitchen, which was perfect, he wanted to get a light snack without being scolded for eating cake before the main course. Of course, Makoto found that was just flat out stupid, it wasn’t like he was spoiling his appetite just for having one slice of dessert early or even having taffy to chew on to help collect his thoughts. Looking into the dining hall, he looked around really quick for any signs of that ultimate chef, no such person was in today. Good, Hanamura must have his own homework to attend to. The kitchen was unguarded! With a grin, he bolted inside and immediately went to the fridge looking for something to snack on while he did his other assignments.

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, he keeps the cakes behind the rows of eggs.”  
  
Makoto jumped a little and turned to the owner of the voice. Togami was by a coffee maker, carefully measuring out the beans to grind out. He had an empty plate and fork beside an empty cup; Even the heir of a powerful family came by for light snacks as well.  
  
“Togami?”  
  
“Get whatever slice fancies you, then get a slice of red velvet for me.” Togami just ordered.  
  
“Wait-”  
  
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Naegi. I’m in the middle of an important process.” Togami got his beans collected and into the grinder. “If you make me mess this up, I will make you suffer.”  
  
Not wanting to risk another week of playing errand boy for him, Makoto just kept his mouth closed before rearranging the fridge slightly to get the two cakes out; chocolate and red velvet as asked for. Not going to lie, he didn’t expect him to have a sweet tooth, but this could work in some ways. Maybe Togami could help with his current assignment in music? Didn’t he brag about being skilled in a number of variety instruments?  
  
“Hey Togami, I was wondering…are you busy today?” Makoto asked as he set a slice on the plate by the heir.  
  
Togami hummed before tapping his arm. “Depends on what you mean by busy? Am I busy with my own homework? The answer is no. Am I busy to hang out with you and the others? The answer is yes.”  
  
Makoto shook his head and put the cakes back before digging out a fork. “Actually, I need help with an assignment of my own. It’s for music?”  
  
“Ah, the classical music assignment.” Togami nodded. “Let me guess, you have no idea where to start and you want me to give you some advice, am I correct?”  
  
“Close, I found a song I want to do but uh…I never really held a violin or played the piano before and-”  
  
“-Which song?” Togami poured the fresh brew, letting the sweet aroma fill the air.  
  
Makoto smiled a little, whatever brew that was with a sweet smell like that it probably tasted good. “Ah, Les Toreadors? From Carmen? Bizet?”

Time just stopped. Togami slowly put the pot in the sink to wash later as he grabbed his plate and cup, he nodded for Makoto to follow him to a table. Once seated, he folded his hands and let out a long sigh. Somewhere in Makoto’s gut told him this was probably going to end terrible.  
  
“Let me ask you this, are you sure this is the hill you want to die on?” Togami asked. “Because this song is fast and upbeat, it will be easy for you to hit sour notes when you play.”  
  
“Well, I tend to nod off during stuff like waltzes and Chopin’s piano stuff.” Makoto admitted as he played with a fork. “Please don’t kill me for that.”  
  
Togami sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Naegi Makoto, this boy was just one enigma after the other. Easily excited, simple, dull, yet he can tell you which opera a certain song was from. How the hell was this boy standing in society? Taking a slow sip of his coffee, he silently debated on a lot of things. It’s clear this one was going to need serious help if he ever hoped to pass this class, but there was no way he could get him to perform Les Toreadors with little to no mistakes by Monday, and they had a short time frame as is; today was Friday and with this day nearly over, their frame was even shorter.  
  
“There might be some hope for you, I know a rather upbeat song that should be easy for you to learn. I was going to do a violin rendition of it anyway, but having a piano partner might make this work.” Togami said carefully. “Danse Macabre, the piano parts are simple that you shouldn’t have that much problem.”  
  
“Danse Macabre?” Makoto repeated. “I feel like I heard that name before?”  
  
“We’ll discuss this in further detail after we’re done here. For now, enjoy your dessert.”  
  
Makoto nodded and had a few bites, “So is that coffee of yours any good?”  
  
“When it’s just plain, yes.” Togami nodded. “This one is more of an acquired taste for.”  
  
“Can I have a sip? Just to get an idea of what it tastes like?”  
  
Togami handed him the cup and smirked as he watched Makoto’s face cringed a bit after the first gulp. He did warn the other that it was an acquired taste, nobody said the expensive stuff tasted any good. “I warned you.”  
  
“Augh, what was that?” Makoto shoved a few more bites of cake in his mouth to get rid of the taste.  
  
“Kopi Luwak.” Togami said simply after taking a bite of his own cake. “Civet coffee if you’d rather me be straight forward.”  
  
“It tastes terrible! What’s kind of beans are used to make this!”  
  
Togami stared him in the eyes. “You must be a masochist, Naegi. First you want to make your fingers bleed from Carmen, now you want to know what civet coffee is made of.”  
  
Makoto frowned. “Now you’re just being dramatic.”  
  
“Alright. Civet coffee, is coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet.”  
  
And just like that, Makoto had bolted from the dining hall to try to spit up that foul coffee. Togami chuckled and went back to his own treat. Naegi Makoto; simple, easily excited, curious, and a glutton for punishment. This boy was certainly one mystery after another, and if there was one thing he enjoyed more than anything else, was solving the unsolvable ones. The cases from the archives were starting to bore him and he needed a new case to keep his mind going. Perhaps this weekend could be the spark he needed. Of course, he wasn’t going to go easy on him, they had three and a half days to get Danse Macabre perfected by Monday.  
  
* * *  
  
“Do make yourself at home while I get us ready.”  
  
Makoto walked around Togami’s room; while it was true that the dorms were the same in size and design, the difference with Togami’s was the furniture was replaced with some of the finer stuff, that and him showing off his pride and wealth. A red carpet leading from the entrance, paintings, an ornate dining chair and light fixture, a table cloth and a yellow rose in a vase. There was even a violin, a music stand, and sheet music. Then, just to show off no doubt was a coin collection behind his bed. Now he was curious as to what the full interior of the bedroom at Togami’s household was like, if this was a sample he could only imagine the full display.  
  
“Joy, Friendship.” Makoto recited as he looked at the yellow rose.  
  
Togami paused in sorting out his music sheets and looked over at him. “Pardon?”  
  
“The yellow rose, it symbolizes joy and friendship.” He pointed to the rose on the table. “We had a test on flower meanings?”  
  
Togami nodded slowly. “Then do you know what the meaning of a red carnation is?”  
  
That got Makoto to fall quiet. “I know what pink carnation means?” he tried.  
  
Togami chuckled a little at that. “I’ll let you figure that out yourself, come, we have work to do.” And with that he led him to the music hall where the piano was. If they were lucky, it shouldn’t be in use for the time being.  
  
After arriving and setting up, Togami performed the violin set to give the lucky student a taste to what the song would be like. Makoto listened and let his jaw drop, it started with a beautiful light melody for a few seconds before delving into light chaos. The speed, the tone, it felt as if he had walked into the darkest part of the forest and entered into a witch’s hut and was now trying to escape. Togami saw the expression and kept with the performance, even with the chaos playing, under the glow of a spotlight, he looked ethereal. Deadly beauty is what he would describe the situation right now. The trance of the madness was short lived when a string snapped, Togami silently cursed and went over to his case to get a new string out.  
  
“That, is what Danse Macabre would sound like with just the strings.” He said as he fixed the string. “Well, without a string breaking that is.”  
  
“I felt like I was running from danger just by listening to it.” Makoto breathed out.  
  
“Good, because the translation is called Dance of the Dead.” He led Makoto to the Piano. “According to legend, Death appears at midnight every year on Halloween. Death calls forth the dead from their graves to dance for him while he plays his fiddle, his skeletons dance for him until the rooster crows at dawn when they must return to their graves until the next year. This is a tone poem, written by French composer Camille Saint-Saens.”

Makoto sat on the bench and stared at the sheet music in front of him, with a paled expression. “I don’t have to do much do I?”  
  
“Come now Naegi, this should be simple. After all, I’m doing the hard work by playing the tritone, your part is easier. Now then, let’s begin.”  
  
Easier? Yeah right, Makoto was forced to play the full score in piano mode so he could get a feel of it. The only easy part was the beginning part, after that it all went to hell once it really started to pick up. Unlike Togami’s rendition that brought life to the music, he was hitting sour note after sour note when the tempo picked up. Togami rubbed the bridge of his nose again with a heavy sigh, they were going to be here all night if this kept up. He was praying to every god imaginable to help this idiot.  
  
“Okay, stop. We’re taking this apart piece by piece. Let’s start from the twelve D’s, the stroke of midnight. And don’t worry about speed, we’re just getting you used to the keys at this point. Just be warned, when we get to the actual play I will not go easy on you. Is that clear?”  
  
“Yeah, I know Togami.”  
  
“Good, now then. Stroke of midnight.”  
  
In all honesty, this plan worked better in his head than in practice. Danse Macabre, it was easy it was basically the same parts repeated throughout the entire score mixed in with some of the other orchestra parts (that Togami would end up doing as a violin solo), and the piano parts were little too few so there should be no problems! Well, again, in theory that would be the case, in practice however, he ended up having to smack Makoto’s hands with the violin bow more times than he could count. The rest of the afternoon into nighttime was repeating the first part of the song, the stroke of midnight to the energetic tempo.  
  
The familiar chimes echoed through the room as the monitor lit up with Monokuma’s face on it. “Ahem! This is a school announcement, it is now ten p.m. as such it is officially night time-”  
  
Togami sighed and shook his head, so much for getting any work done. “Run cold water over your hands in the morning. We’ll be picking it up tomorrow after breakfast.”  
  
Makoto rubbed his hands, “Seriously was that even necessary?” he demanded.  
  
“Rather I strike the head?” he challenged. “Now then, we have a rather long weekend ahead of us.”  
  
Great, a full weekend of being attacked with a violin bow. Makoto stood up and returned to his room, he didn’t even bother with undressing from his uniform all he cared about was dropping dead on the bed. Kicking his shoes off, he just laid face down into the pillow with a small sigh, he was just so damn tired and this was only the beginning. He could easily feel that the night was going to whip through, giving him little to no time to get a good night’s sleep. That tends to be the thing with deadlines, the evenings whip through and there’s hardly any sleep given, and that much was evident when he felt a shake of the shoulder when morning came. He tried to bury himself further into the covers that he managed to get under during the evening, whoever was waking him up tore the covers off him.  
  
“I know that you like to sleep in during the weekend, but you have a date with a piano.” Togami’s stern voice rang out.  
  
Makoto groaned and pushed himself up on the bed, he rubbed his eyes of the sleep. “But it’s far too early.”  
  
“That is no excuse. I won’t lie I may have been a tad bit harsh yesterday, but today you have a full day of polishing up any and all mistakes. Now get up so we can get something for breakfast.”  
  
Somewhere in Makoto’s mind was wondering if the grade was really worth the assault with a violin bow, then again, he was a student representing the academy itself so, having a grade slip would look bad. There was no way around this. Makoto followed Togami to the dining hall and got a small bowl of yogurt and fruit alongside the heir, a big breakfast wasn’t really ideal in this state so a simple parfait would have to suffice. Of course, during meal times, being in each other’s silent company was a pleasant treat, normally Togami would have a book with him and Makoto would read the back and make a mental note to check the book out at the library to see if it was a good read. If it were one of the unsolved cases, well…that he would have to tread carefully and ask Togami about the details and even then, the heir hardly gave him much details. But at least they had something to talk about. Once the two were finished with their light meal, they made their way to the music room.  
  
*** * ***  
  
Togami stood to the side and listened to Makoto’s playing, this was the fourth run of the score, and unlike yesterday where there were sour notes everywhere, today there were maybe a few small sour notes here and there. The first run definitely had sour notes as did the second, the third was a little neater with a few mistakes, and now this run? Well there were still one or two, but they were hardly noticeable. This weekend was truly about progress, granted he had to switch methods of correcting Makoto’s mistakes, but, in the end of everything Makoto was basically ready for class tomorrow.  
  
“Well done, Naegi.” Togami praised lightly. “I believe it’s time to add in the violin piece wouldn’t you agree?”  
  
“Are you sure about this?” Makoto tensed slightly.  
  
“Come now, you’ve made it this far. Remember what I’ve said? I told you that I have the harder parts with the violin solo.” He lifted his face with the bow. “You’re not going to back out now from nerves, are you?”  
  
Makoto looked into those icy blue eyes and shook his head. “No, but we didn’t really have time to add your piece in to mine.”  
  
“Shush.” He hissed lightly. “Begin the stroke of midnight.”  
  
And just like that, Makoto closed his mouth and played the twelve notes to start Togami off. It was expected, with each play together the number of sour notes started decreasing drastically and the room was filled with the beautiful chaos of Death and his dancing skeletons. A few times a fellow classmate or two would come in to investigate the source of the epic that is filling the entire floor. Even as of now their audience consisted of Fukawa, Maizono, Hagakure, and Komaeda, that after the second round of their play they were greeted with a small round of applause which seemed to boost the confidence Makoto needed. This seemed to last until the late evening, where once more they parted and slept somewhat peacefully that night (Makoto was mostly lying awake, nervous about performing for the class and the teacher. After all, his grade depended on this.) It seemed that time once again whipped by him before he could think about anything, when the morning announcement came he went about his morning routine; get washed up and dressed, have something for breakfast besides Togami if he needed last minute tutoring (if not, he was besides the huge group of friends, laughing and joking around with them), and then go through homeroom.  
  
When it got to music, Makoto was more focused on how he and Togami were going to perform that he failed to notice the others playing (mostly because the majority went with the easiest stuff like the waltz, except for Mioda and Soda who did the Russian Dance from the nutcracker). When the teacher called for Togami and Makoto to the stage, time froze once more. He felt himself choke on the spot, he couldn’t really move. Togami placed a hand on his shoulder and nudged him a little to get him moving, stiff as always but nothing too bad. Once at the piano, Makoto looked up to his partner who had a small smile on his face. It was a comforting sight knowing Togami was giving him some form of assurance that the performance would go accordingly.  
  
“Our performance is Danse Macabre, a sound poem based off the French legend; Death arrives at the cemetery at the stroke of midnight and would summon the dead from their graves to dance.” Togami introduced.  
  
The Stroke of Midnight was Makoto’s cue to start their performance with the twelve notes, once the final note was pressed, the dance of death began bringing everyone to their knees with the violin solos and the piano rendition mixing together. Death and his dancing skeletons were before the audience performing the morbid Danse Macabre, the entire music hall transformed into the graveyard and their fellow classmates were sitting on tombstones watching the sight before them. Such was the power of music, if performed well enough it could bring the image to life for the audience.  
  
Dawn approached and the skeletons returned to their graves, the hall returned to normal as Death had left preparing for the new year and a new dance. Everyone in the room, save for the performers, were shivering from the sudden cold in the room. They couldn’t believe that such a song could bring a chill down their spines like that! The teacher cleared his throat to try to bring everyone back to earth as he applauded the duo.  
  
“That was splendid! Togami, Naegi, you two have such chemistry in the musical arts! What inspired you two to perform such a chilling song?”  
  
Togami was the one who answered. “Naegi is full of surprises sir, and thus we figured we could utilize such a feature, one look at him and you would think he would follow the trend of waltzes for an easy grade. Yet, he proved wrong by choosing the Dance of Death.”  
  
Makoto just blinked at Togami’s reply, that wasn’t something he expected to hear. But Togami was right, he did pick something up beat (even though originally, he wanted to do the one from the Carmen Opera), instead of a waltz like the rest of his classmates. When the class had ended, under all the praise and chatter of his classmates, he went up to Togami and gently tugged his sleeve.  
  
“Hey, Togami? Can I ask you something?”  
  
Togami looked down at him, “What is it this time?”  
  
“You said, I chose Danse Macabre.” He started off. “You lied to the teacher saying I picked it when in reality you were the one that went with it. Why?”  
  
A small smirk. “Are you going to go back to correct my statement? I won’t stop you from going to the teacher about this if you do.”  
  
“What? No! I just want to know why you gave me the credit of picking something of yours.”  
  
Togami sighed, “Naegi, there are things in life you just don’t question. You got what you wanted from me, assistance in your performance. Both of our grades are in the A’s because of this, and everything is right in the world. Just accept it and move forward.” He turned to leave Makoto to his thoughts after saying that only for the boy to speak out one more time.  
  
“One more thing. You mentioned about the red carnation’s meaning…what was that about?”

  
Another smirk graced his face. “That, is what you’re going to have to figure out on your own. Come to my room when you solved that.” 


	5. Red Carnation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a young novelist's fantasy turned into an unlikely reality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was suffering from writer's block and I decided to utilize that in here. I originally wanted to wait until a little later to make this chapter, but, hey, sometimes you just gotta have your Ipod yell at you with romance songs to get over a bump.

“So, I was thinking about Miss Sonia. She likes Tanaka’s hamsters, right? So, here’s my idea; I got the okay from the headmaster and after school, I’m going to the pet store and pick up a ferret. I mean, you can take them for a walk if you put a cat harness on them, they’re smart, and they have both cat and dog behaviors. Miss Sonia’s bound to notice me if I do that right?”

Another day, another ‘Get Sonia’s Attention’ scheme. Makoto sighed and laid a hand on Kazuichi’s shoulder. “Kazuichi, she has feelings for Tanaka, just let it go already.”

The ultimate mechanic sighed and looked down. “I’m still getting a ferret, they’re still so damn adorable. Of course, I need to think of a name for it first. You’re gonna help me out there right, Makoto?”

A small laughter was his reply. “Be warned; I’m terrible at names.”

Laundry day always seemed to bring about interesting conversations. The two laughed and made their way back to the dorms, as they neared the entryway to the hall they were taken by surprised by someone’s door slamming open. Fukawa stormed out of her room and made a beeline for Makoto, he barely had time to react with Kazuichi’s comment of good luck and the novelist grabbing his hand, the only thing he could think of was what on earth he did to make her upset.

“Fukawa?”

“You. My room. Right now!” she hissed.

He nodded to the basket in his arms, “Can I drop my clothes off first?”

She just sighed in aggravation before letting go of him before turning to return to her room. If Makoto had to guess, it was probably something important like homework, then again, the only time he’s ever been in her room was for her to show him a new novel she had written. Perhaps it was something similar? Not wanting to keep her waiting, he hurried to his room to put the basket aside, besides he had a dragon’s egg that needed to be wrapped in a warm blanket.

Once he made sure the egg was still glowing after wrapping it up, he hurried over to Fukawa’s room. The young author was sitting at her desk, she wordlessly pointed to the chair beside her for him to sit down. Makoto made sure to sit at a decent space to give her room to write as well as to see what she was jotting down. The desk was pretty disorganized, there were crumpled pieces of paper beside her (rejected notes and plans no doubt), pens were laying everywhere, and there was a laptop with a blank document open.

“This is going to sound embarrassing but,” she messed with a braid. “I-I need your help with my next book.”

Makoto was surprised to say the least. “My help? How can I help? I don’t know the first thing about writing a romance novel.”

She tugged at her braid again. “Y-You and Master are the inspiration of my next book, and…well you spend more t-time with him so…”

It was true he was usually found by Togami’s side but-Wait did she assume there was something frisky going on between them?! Oh, dear lord. Makoto was a bright scarlet red from such an assumption, but there was nothing going on between them! Yeah, they shared a few dances at Halloween, and would have meal times together when they had projects or when he was playing errand boy for him, but there wasn’t anything like THAT going on between them!

“Fukawa you have it wrong-!”

She stopped playing with her braid and stared in Makoto’s eyes. “Don’t lie, e-everybody knows you two are usually together!” a small smile formed on her face. “I-I saw him take you to his room a few times before, e-even after the dance. Always ordering you around like a d-dog. No doubt he makes you wear a collar behind closed doors like a b-bitch!”

“What! No, that is not what happened and you know it!”

But she was lost in her own little world, unconsciously writing down the latest delusion in her notebook. If he wasn’t mortified by the sexual talk, he would be impressed. He and Togami were not sleeping together! He’s only been in his room for group projects most of the time. (Okay, there was the one time he did spend the night with Togami, but it wasn’t in the way Fukawa was thinking.)

“Those dances you shared together with your head resting against his chest, that icy heart of his melted just by holding you in his arms. Tender and loving but also dominating and rough.” She was officially lost in her delusions. “You two of different worlds intertwine in a drama knowing that his family could never accept a commoner into the noble blood family so you have to elope in another town or country, m-maybe even Paris France, or Las Vegas Nevada. A secret honeymoon in the Caribbean’s, where the sunset blesses you in a hot eternal summer passion!”

“And this is where I say ‘I have a test to study for, good luck with your writing, bye!’” Makoto bolted up from his chair and made a line for the door. He didn’t care where he ended up, he just had to get the hell out of that room, and away from that crazy delusional speech. There wasn’t anything serious going on between him and Togami, they were just classmates and even if he did have a crush on Togami (which he didn’t!) the chance of the other returning the feelings were lower than low.

Makoto’s running ended up with him in the archives in the library. He sighed and sat against a bookshelf feeling exhausted, the quiet of the dimly lit room was comforting. He could finally get his thoughts straightened out, try to rationalize everything that had just transpired and try to sort out the fact and fiction, which were true and which were just Fukawa’s delusional thinking. What was true; Togami was his classmate, they shared classes together and would end up in various study sessions.

“I wouldn’t recommend any of those files for light reading if I were you.”

Togami was here. Makoto looked up to see the blond in the doorway, he forced on a smile and shook his head at him.

“Wasn’t really here for reading.” Makoto stood up and brushed his uniform out.

“You look like you saw the devil himself.” Togami moved over to him and straightened out the tie. “What happened to you that got you this disheveled?”

“Ah…I got to experience Fukawa’s erotic fantasy first hand.” Makoto blushed as he remembered her ramblings. “She wanted me to help her with her new book and well, one thing led to another, she started talking about us being a thing and…I got a little disturbed so I bolted.”

Togami scoffed and led him out of the archives. “You really shouldn’t take what she says to heart.”

“Easier said than done.” Makoto bit his lips. “But, I do want to clear things up so…could you tell me what our relationship is? I mean, I know we’re classmates but…”

“Makoto.” Togami turned him so they were face to face. “Do you remember our music project back in September? Danse Macabre? I asked you what the red carnation’s meaning was.”

The red carnation? What the hell did that have to do with their situation? Togami sighed at Makoto’s facial expression; so, this boy could tell the different rose meanings but not carnations? It was like September all over again, what on earth was he going to do with this little simpleton?

“The red carnation will tell you what our ‘relationship’ is. I’d start looking into it if I were you.”

*** * ***

He was going to kill that woman.

Normally, Togami wouldn’t bother with Fukawa or her silly delusions of being his girlfriend (the thought alone made him sick.) But having the audacity to write some fictional romance between him and Makoto was out of the question! It wasn’t that he didn’t have any feelings for the other, he was still observing that boy and learning more about him-even though results aren’t exactly what he was hoping for, he still held onto hope that the ‘lucky student’ would surprise him- at the very least. The red carnation had four meanings, and at the moment, he was feeling one, Pride. Pride in the fact he got Makoto to master a song on the piano, pride in the fact he kept his classmates’ grades from falling, and pride in the fact he was the leader of class 78.

But now wasn’t the time to bask in the limelight of his success with these commoners, right now he had business to take care off. Togami pounded on Fukawa’s door and stood back, awaiting her to answer.

“M-Master!? What-Oh gosh, you’re here…at my room.” She played with her braid again.

“Let’s skip formalities.” Togami snapped. “I hear you’re working on a new book starring Makoto and I?”

That got her even more flustered. “Oh! W-well, you two are actually the inspiration of my new book. Two lovers of different backgrounds in a relationship of forbidden romance, passion, and drama.” She giggled. “Of course, I’ve never written two boys before and you and N-Naegi are always together, I just figured he could give me the details of your time together.”

What on earth? No wonder Makoto ran for his life, that sounded like an absurd request. Their relationship was purely academic and nothing more. Unlike Makoto, Togami regained himself and straightened up, keeping a calm composure. So long as Fukawa changed the names and avoided describing them in the book it should be fine, there wouldn’t be any ties to them and they would be safe.

“Makoto and I have a strict academic relationship, it’s my duty as the class representative to keep everyone from failing. His grades are lack luster so I am obligated to help him. Nothing more, nothing less.” He said in a stern tone. “As for your…next best seller, use your imagination. Just so long as you keep names and descriptions out of it. I’d rather not have it traced back to me.”

“O-of course master!” She quickly closed her door and got back to writing her book.

Now that he nipped that in the butt, things should hopefully return to normal.

It was wishful thinking. Lately both parties were trying to avoid each other no thanks to last week’s events. Togami was still as cold as ever, so there wasn’t anything new. He always took meals to his room and avoiding his fellow classmates in the dining hall. Makoto would always find himself by his peers and stay in conversation, he didn’t really want his mind to wander over to his blond classmate and cause him to freeze on the spot. Granted he did get some of his friends to worry about him whenever he got flustered but he just blamed it on something else, and right now he was running out of excuses when gym came up.

As of now, literature was going by way too slow that he couldn’t even focus on the discussion of Penny Dreadfuls, the only thing he could grasp was that they were gothic horror and stories like Frankenstein, A String of Pearls, and Jekyll and Hyde fell into that category. His mind kept going back and forth between Togami and Fukawa, and each just made him cringe on the inside with sheer embarrassment, especially with that dog collar comment. Makoto was blushing furiously from that mental image; him wearing a leather dog collar and being at the mercy of Togami-Oh god.

**Thunk.**

His face was now in the desk. All eyes were on him now, as the teacher cleared her throat to get Makoto’s attention. “Naegi, if you’re unwell you should just head on down to the nurse’s office.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Makoto collected his belongings and left the classroom and down to the first floor, he was relieved that he was out of the same classroom as Togami, and even more relieved that Tsumiki was the nurse for the students, so being around another classmate and one that’s a girl might actually help keep the blush from forming. Once there, he signed in and went to lay on one of the cots as he waited for the ultimate nurse to show up and check him over; check the temperature and of course ask the traditional questions ‘what are you in for?’ and probably hand him an over the counter drug.

“N-Naegi? You’re hardly in here.” Tsumiki went over to the cabinet and took a thermometer out. “What happened?”

“I…guess I got light headed.” He answered her.

She got a good look at him, face was red. “You’re pretty flushed.” She placed the thermometer in his mouth. “I-It is flu and c-cold season, so you might be running a fever.”

Oh, thank god, he could miss a few days of class! The temperature came back rather high, much to Tsumiki’s concern. “Definitely a fever! I-it’s rather high!”

“Nothing to be too concern right?” Makoto asked with hope.

“You’re not showing flu or cold symptoms.” She checked him over again. “B-but just to be safe, i-it might be best if you stayed in your room to rest for a few days.”

Angels exist, and he was just blessed with this good news! A few days out of class and away from Togami, a few days to get his head cleared up and to be able to push through with no problems! Thanking his nurse, he once again collected his belongings and returned to his dorm room. Locking the door and changing out of his uniform, he immediately went to his bed to lay down. Finally, some peace and quiet, nothing could ruin this moment. Turning to the egg that rested on his desk, he decided to talk to it, letting out everything that has been happening to him the past few days. It was silly, but according to Tanaka, if he talked to it, the dragon would recognize his voice and instantly imprint on him and identify him as his owner. So, whenever he got the chance, he always updated his dragon with events that happen around the school, this include the conflicting interactions with him and two of his classmates.

The past few days was him relaxing and playing video games, of course he did leave his room to get what Tsumiki would recommend for a cold; orange juice and hot soup. Granted, he knew he wasn’t sick or anything, but what do you tell someone like Tsumiki that you might be bi for the ultimate heir that looks down on the rest of the class some inferior peon? So, deciding to suck it up and have another day of hot soup and orange juice, he returned back to his room where an unexpecting visitor was. The very person he was hoping to have a few days to himself from. Togami, sitting at the desk looking over the glowing egg.

“I love how the first thing you do when finding something new and interesting is to just keep it in your room instead of taking it to be studied on.”

“Please be careful with it!” Makoto cried out.

Togami shook his head. “Honestly, you’re so protective of it.” He moved from the egg and stood up. “I was only here to drop off the missed assignments due to your cold. But now after seeing you up close, I can see you’re faring well. Well enough to get started right away.”

Makoto fell silent at that. “Uh thanks for bringing my homework.”

Silence hung between them for a while, before Togami spoke up. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been avoiding me these past few days, no doubt Fukawa’s little fantasy world got to you. This is getting rather sad, if you’d rather run be my guest.” Togami shrugged. “I won’t stop you, but you can only go so far. After all, I am in charge of you and the others, so avoidance won’t do you good.”

“You’ve been doing the same.” Makoto quietly pointed out. “You’re colder than usual, and you always push others away with your attitude lately. You’re just as bothered about it as I am, so don’t go giving me life advice when you can’t be assed to do the same.”

Togami had a small smirk on his face. “So, you do have a spine, here I was worried you might be a lost cause. But that still doesn’t answer my question.”

“And I’ll tell you when you tell me what your plan is. Are you still going to give the rest of us hell because of the male erotica Fukawa’s writing?” Makoto challenged. “Because if you are, then I’ll stay avoiding you but for another reason all together.”

“You are one persistent commoner, Makoto.” He sighed. “But, as much as I hate to admit this, you have a point. I’ll meet you in the middle, we pretend that interaction with her never happened and we go about our school life as if nothing had happened. As far as we’re concerned, it was just some silly rumor flying around that isn’t true.”

“You’re still running from the problem!” Makoto protested, Togami covered his mouth with a vice grip.

“Why don’t you scream louder, I don’t think the school heard you.” He hissed at him.

Makoto narrowed his eyes before licking his hand, causing the blond to pull his hand away. “I don’t even know what Fukawa sees in you. You’re just the worst; you only give a damn about yourself and your reputation, not to mention you’re so damn cryptic!”

“I’m cryptic? How am I cryptic exactly?”

“You mentioned the red carnation twice; once back on our project and the other time the day of the incident. What the hell does that flower have to do with anything?”

Togami sighed and went to lock Makoto’s room, mostly to keep a prying Fukawa from entering in on them. “Honestly Makoto, you are just one problem after the next. If anyone is a cryptic mess it’s you.” He turned to him, “You can name an opera where a classical piece is from but doze on a simple waltz, you’re energetic and eager yet you let your emotions get in the way.” He walked up and held his chin. “You can memorize the roses but not a simple carnation. You are the true puzzle out of the two of us, Makoto.”

“Togami-”

“-Hush. You are this huge mystery even I can’t solve, and for that, I’m just going to show you what the red carnation means.”

Before Makoto had a chance to react, Togami pulled him close and kissed him. Time had just stood still for Makoto; his first kiss was with the Ultimate Heir Byakuya Togami. Just like at the Halloween dance where he felt warmth just by being in his arms and dancing to the slow songs, he felt the same warmth just by being in his embrace sharing a sudden kiss. Togami parted a bit to give Makoto some space, to his surprise, Makoto held onto him and brought himself close to return the kiss. Makoto Naegi will always be full of surprises to him, and frankly, the heir was just fine with that.

“Love, that’s the flower’s meaning.” Makoto whispered against his lips.

“Along with pride, admiration, as well as my heart aches for you.” Byakuya brushed his hair behind his ear. “That is the nature of the red carnation, Makoto Naegi.”

Pride he could see just fine, Byakuya had a skewed sense of it. Love and admiration, that took him by surprise, a pleasant surprise. The warmth in his chest just grew as he leaned into his embrace some more. It was a wonderful feeling, and just like Halloween, he didn’t want this moment to end, he just wanted time to stay still for them.

“Does this make us official?” Makoto asked suddenly.

“Behind closed doors, I’d rather we surprise our classmates during Christmas.” Byakuya smiled lightly. “Just imagine the reactions they’d have.”

“But that’s a month away!” Makoto pouted.

“Good things come to those who wait.” Byakuya pointed out. “Now then, tomorrow is Saturday, do you think you’ll recover from your ‘cold’ by then?”

Makoto blinked before smiling and nodding. “I might recover faster if I had you taking care of me.”

Byakuya gently shoved him onto the bed. “And our date is now officially on Sunday.”

“Hey you can’t just change the date like that!” Makoto laughed.

“Actually, I can, since I’m the one paying.” He went to the door and smiled at him. “But seriously, get some rest. We’ll carry on tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention in the notes earlier so I'm doing this now; A String of Pearls, you might recognize this story by a common name "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street". I've actually just started the story so I can't really tell you if it's similar to the musical or not (Probably not)


	6. Double Disney pt.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 77 scored a weekend vacation!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you noticed the Pt.1, that's because we have a double date baby!
> 
> Also, I know little to nothing about Tokyo Disney, so I asked my friend about it and she gave me the info...I was still a lost puppy dog, so I asked "Should I just use my memory of my time in Orlando for this?" and she said it would be the better idea.
> 
> So! Part one, will be some Naegami for you lovely people

There wasn’t really a reason to be out in town, other than to have a change of scenery but that was basically it. To Nagito, Hope’s Peak was the greatest thing that had ever happened to him, but even so, sometimes one gets stir crazy from having to see the same halls day in and day out. Which is why he was in town today, not for shopping or anything spectacular like that, but to take a small break from homework and that annoying rabbit Usami (she was cute, but that ‘love love’ thing of hers was grating to hear). Being in town was a refreshing feeling, but at the same time he felt a little sad. When the day was over he would have to return to the halls of Hope’s Peak and return to that dull homework, if he was lucky (and he always was), maybe something could change the norm. Something that could be remembered for the ages. Something like a small vacation, just for a three-day weekend (a tropical island vacation seemed like a good idea right now).

**Test your luck! Find the gold ball and win a weekend trip to Tokyo Disney for a party of four to celebrate Halloween with Mickey and Friends!**

Well, what were the odds? Nagito just smiled at the banner, his luck had shone through once again. This was just perfect, he got his wish! Of course, who would he bring? There was Hajime, true he was a bit of a pessimist but he wouldn’t turn away a chance at a weekend trip, he’d drag him along if he had to! But that left the other two, who would be a perfect duo to…wait a minute. Togami was a perfect candidate, he did bribe his class to vote Naegi as the Queen of Halloween, that and he said that was the only way he would ever be caught at the Halloween Dance. Oh sure, Togami wouldn’t willingly agree to go, but if he were to mention Naegi’s name then he was almost certain that he could get that Ultimate Heir to have fun and a relaxing time. It was settled, he was going for it!

Nagito ran up to the stand and smiled cheerfully as someone failed to get the gold ball, “Excuse me? Can I try my hand at it?”

The losing man stood to the side and let Nagito try. “These games are rigged kid, there’s no way you’re getting the prize.”

That got him to just smile brighter, oh did he love it when they say that, he got more delight in proving them wrong. “Well, still no harm in trying!” He grabbed the handle of the wheel and gave a few cranks to spin it at a good speed to give a show. When the spinning died down, the ball rolled out and laid in view for everyone to see.

Gold.

The kid actually won the trip! Everyone just felt their jaws hit the ground, even the people in charge of the contest were surprised. Nagito did a small bounce and clapped with glee, “Wow! I can’t believe I actually won!” Oh, Hajime was going to be in for a big surprise!

Hinata was actually a little concerned, he looked at the clock in the dining hall and tapped his finger on the counter. He was with Makoto in an effort to make some cookies for a movie night with some of their friends and sugary sweets were always a go to for those nights. Makoto looked over in concern as he dug out the chocolate chips from the pantry, the only time Hinata was like this was when Komaeda was out of the school. Granted the Ultimate Lucky Student from Class 77 wasn’t a bad person, he was just…out there. Especially with his weird fixation on hope. But there wasn’t anything to be worried about!

“Hinata, he’ll be fine.” Makoto assured.

“That’s the part I’m worried about.” Hinata turned to the oven where the first batch were. “He was kidnapped the day he won the lottery.”

“Right…he found the winning ticket in the trunk of the car he was in.” Makoto winced at the memory. “But look, I doubt that’s going to happen again. I promise you, he’s going to come through Kuwata’s door with some gift basket without a scratch on him.”

Hinata smiled a little bit, “Yeah…Yeah you’re right. What am I worried about?”

“Right?” Makoto tossed the bag of chocolate chips at him. “Now are you going to help cook, or are you just going to stare at the oven all day!”

Hinata laughed and got a bowl out before getting started on the second mix. The first one was peanut butter-using Makoto’s family recipe, and now they were in the process of chocolate chips. This was going to be an awesome night, an all-boys movie night with junk food, soda, and staying up all night trying not to shake in fear from the latest horror movie! They were so going to fall into a sugar coma after tonight, but that was the fun part anyway. After the first batch came out and the second one thrown in, they went through the cards to find a third recipe to make to keep with the variety of things, as they debated over two types a familiar cheerful voice rang through the kitchen.

“Oh Hajime~”

“Hey perfect timing, we were talking about you.” Makoto smiled up at him.

Komaeda’s smile grew, “Really? You missed me that much? I feel so honored that an ultimate missed me enough to talk about someone lowly as me.”

And there he went again. Makoto just coughed and changed the topic, “How was your day in town?”

“Oh, it was great! I have a surprise for you two.” Komaeda dug around his bag and took out an envelope containing the four tickets. “Ta Da! A weekend at Tokyo Disney, and they included the Halloween Party tickets!”

Both Hinata and Makoto just stared at him, how in the hell did he manage to score tickets like that? Actually, no, that was probably a story they didn’t want to hear. But, it did sound like a good deal though, a weekend vacation away from the school for a breather was definitely what the doctor ordered. And since they wouldn’t have school, they didn’t even have to worry about informing the headmaster or worry about missing any assignments,

“So, the three of us are going to Disney?” Hinata asked.

“Nope!” Komaeda corrected. “The four of us are going to Disney. I told Togami about it and that Makoto was coming, he reluctantly agreed.”

Makoto’s smile fell into a look of disbelief. “Togami’s coming to Disney with us?”

“Yep! I told him you were going, so you kind of have to go with us Naegi. No getting out of this!”

Togami and Disney being in the same sentence was something he wasn’t expecting at all. Then again, he wasn’t expecting that Togami would agree on going unless he was there. This was the same young heir who always claimed he was ‘too busy’ to hang out with the group and always put his image first before anything else. Looking over to Hinata, Makoto saw he was deep in thought as well (probably about the same thing), turning back to Komaeda who was smiling still it was clear he wasn’t going to let up. In the end, Makoto just decided to shrug it off, they were going to Disney for a weekend! He would worry about Togami’s pride when they got to their resort room.

“Okay, when these chocolate chips come out of the oven, we’ll drop them off at Kuwata’s room and then we’ll go pack!” Makoto verbally agreed.

“Yay!” Komaeda hugged Makoto, then Hinata. “Be sure to bring an empty bag for souvenirs, cause, chances are we’re coming home with fun stuff.”

Hinata gently nudged him. “Okay, okay. You win, now please shoo we have cookies in the oven.”

Komaeda pointed to a bowl of the peanut butter ones. “Like these?”

“Don’t even think about it, those are for Kuwata’s party.” Hinata scolded.

Komaeda didn’t even blink, he just grabbed one. “Whoops, my hand slipped.” He grabbed another one. “Whoops, my hand slipped again. I don’t know why this is happening.”

“Komaeda!”

Makoto shook his head as Hinata gave chase and Komaeda was laughing like a lunatic, vacationing with those two was going to be quite the adventure. Vacationing with Togami was…going to be an experience. As he said, he would worry about all that once they got to their resort room, right now he had to keep delicious cookies from getting burned in the oven.  
  
The ride to the resort was the longest ride they’ve been on. Then again, due to the three being excited it only felt like an hour when in reality it was only thirty minutes. They were staying at the hotel closest to Disney and needless to say Hinata and Makoto were in wide eye wonder at the regal looking lobby they walked into, Komaeda would have done the same if he wasn’t at the concierge getting their room. Togami just took a spot on the couch and leaned back to enjoy the atmosphere of the place.

“I bet your place is this grand, right Togami?” Makoto asked.

Togami just shrugged. “Similar, but not quite.” He said. “First time staying in a luxury hotel I take it?”

“Well, Yeah?” Hinata spoke up. “I mean, there’s really no need to sell your kidney for a room you’re only going to be sleeping in.”

Typical commoners. Togami shook his head at that, “Well, now you can say to your friends you stayed at a deluxe resort.”

Before any of the two could say anything to that, Komaeda came over with the room keys announcing they were staying in the Beauty and the Beast guest room. That got the duo even more excited than ever, after reading online how the character rooms were themed to the movies in question, they were bouncing trying to imagine the one they were staying in. Once in they were greeted to an indescribable scene. One part of the room was themed like the library, the bathroom had its own vanity and a stain glass door of Belle and the beast, in the bedroom they were greeted to the violet walls with the, a chandelier lighting, tv, a gold couch, balcony side view and of course two beds that positioned near the- Wait a minute, two beds?

“Uh Nagito, what did you tell the people at reception?” Hinata asked.

“I showed them the winning form and ID, we had a little dance around the whole contest thing. Originally, we were supposed to get one of the suites that had the pullouts so we can sleep four people, the long story short; they were told last minute and gave us this room. So, we get to partner up in bed.”

Togami scoffed. “So much for the Ultimate Lucky Student.”

Actually, he found this quite lucky, Komaeda got to share a bed with Hinata! “Yeah, I guess so.” He shrugged and put his bag to one side of the room. “Come on, it’s only for sleeping in, you make it sound like we’re going to have a group orgy!”

Oh, the intense feeling of bloodlust was rising now within Togami. The young heir took a small breath to settle his nerves and let out a long sigh, this was going to be a long weekend with this complete idiot of a freshman. Still, he wasn’t the one who had to share a bed with him, that honor belonged to his classmate Naegi, the only thing he hoped for was that Naegi wasn’t one of the people that move around in their sleep. He would make him sleep on the couch if that was the case. Deciding to let the three boys talk about what they were going to do first, he just decided to unpack, putting his clothes in the dresser drawer and his toiletries on the vanity, his actions caused a spark of curiosity from his new ‘roommates’ as Komaeda lead the way to him and staring in surprise at the layout.

“Are you trying to open a spa or something?” Komaeda picked up a jar and looked it over. “African Black Soap facial mask, for break outs?”

Togami snatched it from him and placed it back on the counter. “It’s more to prevent breakouts from happening, and this is actually very good for your skin after a shower.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little extra to be bringing stuff like that on a weekend trip?” Hinata asked. “I mean, you also brought a cuticle set?”

Togami really wasn’t surprised. Hardly anyone in his class took care of themselves, there was nothing wrong with making sure your skin was clear and that your nails looked presentable and not some wolverine claw. “I don’t really expect you to understand, but yes, it is quite necessary.”

“Right…uh, well we talked it over, and we decided to get lunch at the park.” Komaeda said, trying to change the topic. “Then we’re just going to branch into two groups; Hajime and I will go off and you and Naegi go off together. We’ll only meet for meal times and parade times, if that’s fine?”

“It gives me a break from you, so I’m fine with this arrangement.” Togami said simply. “Let’s be on our way then.”

*** * ***

“So what ride do you want to go on first?” Makoto looked up at Togami who was looking over the map. “I mean, there’s a lot of cool rollercoasters?” That just earned a small hum in reply. “I guess we can walk around until something catches-”

“-Pirates of the Caribbean.” Togami finally said.

“Pirates? I was expecting something like the carousel from you?”  
  
“You’re not the only one full of surprises, Naegi.” Togami lead him over to Adventureland where the ride awaited them. “Besides, Adventureland is the closest to us, so it only makes sense to go for it.”

But Tomorrowland was the same distance from where they were, so that didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Makoto just kept quiet and followed him to the ride, Togami seemed to be interested in the pirates and who could blame him? Pirates were awesome! Still, hearing Togami admitting to secret pleasures of his own was, well, surprising, but also refreshing.

Arriving at the line, they looked up at the wait time, only five minutes, no big deal. The two went in the building and walked through the dungeon like interior, cannons and other ship arsenals giving the ambiance of Dead Men tell no Tales. Makoto couldn’t stop the smile forming on his face, he was just so excited to get into one of those boats and sail through Port Royale where pirates were causing mischief alike. He looked up to Togami and blinked, he had a small smile of his own, it was hard to tell in the dim light, but a smile was there. Not a cold smirk. Not a condescending smile. But a genuine one. He really was full of surprises.

“Party of two.” Togami told the worker.

“Row one.” He nodded to the spot.

The two complied and stood patiently as the first boat went off. Makoto looked over to Togami and gently nudged him, “So I read that they added the mermaids from the fourth movie into this. I think they’re in the cave where the skeletons are?”

“Did they now? Did you know back in California they had actresses dressed as Mermaids in the Seven Seas Lagoon, they had to take them out because the chlorine was turning their skins green and male guests kept trying to jump in with them.”

“I…No, I didn’t know that.” Makoto smiled a little at him. “You don’t really strike me the type to know stuff about the parks.”

“Everyone has their guilty pleasures, Naegi. This would be mine.” He smiled and gently nudged him forward as the empty boat showed up for them to get on.

They sailed through the waters, going under the foggy falls of Blackbeard and entering the caves where water projections of the mermaid were there to swim besides their boat, a skeletal mermaid was with the skeletal pirates. After the small drop, they went through the port being pillaged by pirates. Both boys were smiling and even pointing out some antics that were going on, Togami even jested at the ‘Bride Auction’ saying the red dress wench reminded him of Enoshima, that earned a small jab of the elbow from Makoto scolding him to be nice. After the ride was over and they landed at the gift shop, Makoto instantly bought a pirate hat whereas Togami went with a few books. One title caught Makoto’s eyes ‘Treasure Island’. So, this was his guilty pleasure; pirates and sea lore.

“Captain Byakuya Togami.” Makoto chimed with a teasing grin.

“And that makes you the cabin boy, Naegi. Now then, what ride did you say you wanted to do next?”

The two spent the whole day playing around the park, they did a few adrenaline rushing rides like Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain, but the majority of their time was on the slow-paced rides and shows like the Enchanted Tiki Room or even the Haunted Mansion. Dinner was at one of the burger joints at Fantasyland where after they spent their time on Peter’s Pan flight flying over London and Neverland, well actually, they just stayed in London as the ride had stopped temporarily. Makoto looked down at the town of London before them and smiled longingly, he couldn’t help but wonder what the town of London was actually like. Togami probably sensed it because he gently tugged on Makoto’s arm to get his attention.

“I don’t normally offer this so you better take it while it’s available.” He started off. “My family and I have an annual trip in June, next year we’re going to London. I’m aloud to bring a plus one if I want to, are you interested?”

Makoto looked up at him. “You’re inviting me to go with you and your family to London?”

“You seem to have a habit of making me repeat myself. Yes, I’m inviting you to go to London with my family and I, now are you going to accept or not?” Togami crossed his arms and looked down at him. “Remember, I don’t offer this too often, so you better accept it while you can.”

“Well, I would but there’s a small problem.” Makoto looked up with a sheepish smile. “I don’t have a passport?”

Togami held his head, how the hell did this kid not have a passport? He was going to have a lot of work ahead of him if Makoto did want to travel outside Japan with him. That he would have to fret about after this trip, right now, he just wanted to enjoy the ride while he could. The ride started up again and they flew into Neverland and to the exit. The sun was down for the night and they made their way to Main Street where they would meet the rest of their party for the Electric Parade and fireworks. Togami broke from the group and made his way into the confectionary shop, Makoto just sat on the curb with Komaeda and Hinata talking about the day they had together; it turned out that the two did the same as they did, just minus the rollercoasters for Komaeda’s sake. Actually, those two just stayed in Fantasyland and Adventureland mostly.

“We ended our day with the Jungle Cruise,” Komaeda ended. “What about you, what ride did you two end the day with?”

“We were on Peter Pan’s Flight,” Makoto smiled. “Togami told me he and his family were going to London in June next year!”

Hinata laughed a bit. “I’m not surprised he brought that up.” He looked around, the lights were starting to dim. “Speaking of who, where did he run off to, the parade is going to start soon.”

“He’s right here,” Togami sat back down with a bag. “Here, take one and pass the bag down.” He handed it to Makoto.

Makoto blinked and opened the bag to see three candied apples! Huh, this really was a surprise. Not questioning any further, he just took one and handed the bag over to the Hinata and Komaeda to have their pick of the treats. The parade was probably one of the most magical moments they went through, Mickey showing at the front with a crystal ball and starting the parade of lights to follow suit, floats after floats of shimmering lights gracing the streets and techno music to accompany with. The fireworks were even more magical, it was like an explosion of stars gracing over the place with colors and classic Disney songs. Late in the evening, a cool autumn breeze and fireworks, a perfect moment for couples to cuddle up. Komaeda and Hinata were somewhat of an example with the lucky student draping his coat over the other’s shoulder. Togami, he held Makoto close after covering him up, when the other lucky student was about to ask, all Togami said was ‘Just don’t get that candied apple in the fabric’. In the end, the four were proud to say that their first day together went without any problems.

Even when they returned to their room, Komaeda and Hinata just collapsed on the bed ready to pass out. They didn’t even bother changing out of their clothes. Togami and Makoto, though tired they did change into their pajamas and laid down under the covers. Lights out, and the room was quiet mostly. Makoto gently shook Togami and looked down at him,

“Hey, Togami?” he whispered.

“Better be important.” Togami muttered tiredly. “What is it?”

“Do you mind if I join in on your morning routine with that face mask and stuff?”

Togami nodded, “I was afraid I’d have to drag you early in the morning. You seriously need the skin care.” He threw the covers over him. “Now get to bed, Naegi.”


	7. Double Disney Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime and Nagito spend a day together and become a thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this took a while to do because;  
> 1) I was trying to finish the main story of DR2 (Which, boy am I glad I am giving canon the middle finger here. Dear lord trial 6 was a trip...and not a good one, Jesus!)  
> 2) I wanted to take a break and crochet a little  
> 3) I was going to haunted houses
> 
> Also, as you noticed, I added Chiaki to the tags. I had a friend clear things up with her, so following my formula of "Nobody died" She's with us now :D
> 
> So without further adieu, let's carry on.

While the Ultimate Heir and Lucky student were away, the other two ultimates shall play. At least, that's what Hajime had thought when he was in line with Komaeda waiting for their turn on the golden carousel, the vacation was a great idea; nothing went wrong, Komaeda scored them an amazing room with a view both inside and out, and they managed to get Togami to go along (after all, how often do you say ‘I went to Disney with the richest kid in the world?’) Hajime turned to his friend as the ride was slowing down to a stop, they were both jumping with excitement for this ride. After the ride stopped and the previous riders got off, they rushed to the horses they wanted and got on, Komaeda was especially excited for this, he hadn’t been on a ride like this in ages and was afraid they were fading from the norm. So, being able to ride one again was the greatest feeling he could describe.

“You’re looking excited.” Hajime teased. “Then again, I think you got the coveted lead horse so I can’t blame you.”

Komaeda just laughed. “Hey, I haven’t been on one since I was a kid. Of course, I’m excited! You’re looking excited yourself too Hajime.”

“Well, I haven’t been on a carousel in a long time myself.” He smiled as the ride started. “Actually, I haven’t been to this park since I was a kid, so seeing the park again for the first time after years have gone by is an exciting feeling.”

“Can’t blame you there.”

The two laughed and enjoyed the remainder of the ride, going around and listening to the calliope version of various Disney songs, even singing along with the tune. Of course, being a three-minute ride, it felt like it ended just as it started. To them it was fine as they could always jump back into line and go another round, which is exactly what they did three times in a row before they were able to move on to the next ride-Peter Pan’s Flight. Soaring over London and Neverland in a flying pirate ship, they were over the moon with the slow rides as putting Komaeda on a rollercoaster was something you only did once. Hajime still felt terrible after going on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Yeah it wasn’t an intense rollercoaster, but thrill rides were definitely not for Komaeda, he was shaken after that experience! So, after that, they just went on every smooth ride they could find and going back on favorites.

After spending time in Fantasyland, they were in Adventureland enjoying a soft serve treat from Aloha Isle and looking over the map they had in front of them. There wasn’t that much to do in this section of the park, but that was fine! They had the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, the Carpets of Aladdin, and of course the Tiki room. So, they still had stuff to do that they could agree on. The two took their cups with them to Pirates first, mostly to get that one out of the way, to their luck they caught sight of Togami and Negi walking out and laughing as they returned back in line. It seemed like this was a favorite to them.

“Hey! Togami, Naegi! Fancy running into you here.” Komaeda smiled.

“Komaeda, hey!” Naegi smiled. “Hey, how’s your day going so far?”

“Oh, you know, we hung out in Fantasyland, and now we’re here. So, how’s the ride?” Hajime asked.

“It’s amazing! You start out in this dark and creepy cave, then you go down this short drop and end in Port Royale!”

Komaeda winced a little at the mention of the drop, it shouldn’t be too bad, a short drop wasn’t that chest clenching. He smiled and took another spoonful of his treat before speaking. “You and Togami must really like this ride.”

“Yeah, we just left Liberty Square, we were on the riverboat and relaxed in the shade.” Naegi smiled. “Then we went to the haunted mansion before coming here. Our ride actually stopped at the cemetery!”

Stopping in the cemetery in the haunted mansion? That actually sounds like an ideal scenario to hold onto each other and cuddle, Komaeda’s smile grew at the thought of him and Hajime being stuck on a ride like that and holding onto each other. Of course, Hajime might squirm, but that’s the fun part. Hajime was always the one in control, and if he wanted to be the one doing the holding, Komaeda would just let him. Togami noticed the growing grin and narrowed his eyes at him, warning him to parish the thought that something was happening in the shadows between him and Naegi, to which the other lucky student assured it was nothing like that. After both he and Hajime tossed their empty cups into the trash outside the ride, the four went in for a group ride into the pirate infested Port Royale before they went to get a group lunch at Tortuga Tavern. Hajime and Togami were the ones getting the orders while Komaeda was left alone with Naegi.

“So, you and Togami.” He started. “What’s the story?”

Naegi looked at him confused. “The story?”

“Yeah, I mean…he did agree to come along if you were going. So, there must be something.” Komaeda played with the straw of his drink. “Childhood friends?” he guessed.

Naegi shook his head. “No, it’s not like that. I guess, out of everyone, he just tolerates me. I don’t know what goes on in his head half the time. He compared us to a red carnation a few times.”

Red carnation? Wasn’t that one of those romantic flowers?

“So, he cares about you.” Komaeda concluded. “Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, out of everyone, he puts in more time to help you with school work than the rest of us. Ishimaru is a great tutor don’t get me wrong, but I think he’s starting to get overwhelmed.”

“I’ll see if I can’t get him to help out with you guys more.” Naegi promised. “But what about you and Hinata?”

“Hajime? Oh, well…” Komaeda smiled. “He’s an average joe, there’s really nothing ultimate about him. Now I’m not saying that’s bad, I mean you and I got in by the school’s lottery system so technically you and I are average joes ourselves. But Hajime, he has a special charm to him…probably because he’s a pessimist and fun to poke at.”

Naegi took a sip of his drink. “So, you basically just adopted an introverted friend and now he can’t shake you off no matter what.”

“Well the only time he got a breather from me was when Soda and Nidai tied me up in the gym on the second floor.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that day. Fujisaki and I had to untie you from the punching bag. What provoked them into doing that to you?”

“Another story for another time.” Komaeda smiled sweetly. Okay, so he did have that Jekyll and Hyde vibe to him, he could be sweet and puppy like and then turn to be some weird twisted individual. But he’s never _killed_ anyone, so he didn’t really understand the uneasiness his classmates held for him. No matter, he just shrugged it off and continued to carry on like nothing was wrong in the world.

“But anyway, long story short, after the near two months of being with Hajime, I’ve developed a romantic interest in him.” Komaeda finished off.

“Uh Komaeda?” Naegi pointed to the side.

Hajime stood there holding the tray with his and Komaeda’s food on it, he was a light pink after hearing that, Togmi just shook his head at Komaeda and sat beside Naegi with their food.

“Komaeda, there is this thing called subtly. You don’t have it.” Togami said in a blunt tone.

Hajime sat down quietly. “Seriously? Two months is enough to develop romantic feelings?”

“What can I say, the heart wants what the heart wants.” Komaeda grinned at Hajime.

“Komaeda.”

“Yes Hajime?”  
  
“Just shut up and eat your food.” Hajime gently tossed a fry at his head before grabbing his food.

Fortunately, lunch between the four wasn’t awkward so they were able to enjoy the meal and continue with the playful banter like they had during Pirates of the Caribbean. Hajime and Naegi had a small contest on who could eat their hot dogs the fastest, it ended with Hajime shoving the hot dog in his mouth and tilting his head back to help swallow it. Togami shook his head at the display, Naegi wasn’t any better with him trying to unhinge his jaw like a snake to eat it, Komaeda just lost it and ended up crying from laughing. These three were suppose to be the image of Hope’s Peak, behavior like this just made Togami died inside.

After settling down with rum cake and finishing their drinks, they group parted ways again. Hajime and Komaeda hurrying over to the haunted mansion while Togami and Naegi went off to Tomorrowland.

*******

“Hey Komaeda, can I ask you something?”

Komaeda looked away from the park gliding by them as they rode the Transit Authority Ride and turned to Hajime who was looking right at him.

“You just asked me something right now.” He teased. “Okay, but seriously, what’s on your mind Hajime?”

Hajime tapped his leg a little. “Were you serious about earlier? About liking me after two months?”

Komaeda fell quiet and tilted his head a little bit in confusion. “Well, what do you think?”

What did he think? Komaeda was impossible to read! He was a lot of things, so taking his word on something like this for granted would cause his own downfall. Hajime turned to look at the window showing the Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin below him before answering.

“Well, I think you could be lying about it to Naegi just to show off.”

“Hey.” Komaeda laid a hand on Hajime’s shoulder. “I take relationships seriously, you’d be surprised how many people now and days cheat on their lovers. Pisses me off actually.”

“So, you’re saying you’re better than them because you wouldn’t cheat on me if we were a thing?” Hajime turned back to him.

“I’m saying that I wouldn’t hurt you, I’m serious about liking you in a romantic sense, and if you’re not interested that’s fine…I’m not going to force you.”

“Nagito, has anyone ever told you that you suck with words?”

“Every day, all the time.” Nagito smiled. “Hey! You called me by my first name-!”

“Oh, shut up.” Hajime pulled him close. “We’re having a moment here. Say I do agree to go out with you?”

“As the ultimate lucky student, consider me your ticket to a great date or two.”

Nagito Komaeda, a weird kid. But, despite that, he did have some endearing qualities after all he relied on his luck to the point of winning a weekend with him and the other two, and it was great to be out of the school halls for a while to just enjoy goofing off and having a wild time together. And going on rides with Nagito and seeing a genuine smile instead of that creepy off putting one in school, was really a refreshing sight, Hajime figured he could get used to being in a relation with him. True it would be a rocky road, but what’s life without a few bumps here and there.

Sometime after a few rides, it was nightfall and the two made their way to main street where they would meet with Togami and Naegi for the Electric Parade and for the fireworks. It would be the last group event of the day before they decided to call it a night between them, tomorrow was the Boo to You party and then Monday it was back to school. Despite the chilly evening air gracing them, Hajime and Nagito were still warm, mostly because they hurried inside a store to get a fleece blanket to sit on and now looking back on their choices, they were starting to feel stupid. They could have used their new blanket to cuddle under.

Naegi was the first to show up beside them, they caught up on their day and to both Hajime’s and Nagito’s surprise, Togami invited Naegi to go to London with him! Nagito had a small grin, he had the pieces together; the red carnation comparison, the sudden invite to London, only showing up to events or vacations if Naegi went. Togami was whipped for that lucky student! Hajime noticed the grin and elbowed him gently, silently telling him to keep it to himself until they were alone.

“Hey, speaking of who, where did he run off to, the parade is going to start soon.” Hajime asked

“He’s right here,” Togami sat back down with a bag. “Here, take one and pass the bag down.” He handed it to Naegi.

As the bag got to him and Nagito, they were greeted to a rather pleasant surprise. Candied Apples! Now the night was completed, sweets to enjoy while the parade went on. Dazzling lights gracing the streets with various colorful floats, both Hajime and Nagito were just spellbound by them, especially the Jolly Roger with Peter, Hook, and Wendy as well as the Alice in Wonderland float. When the parade had ended, and the candied apples were finished, the two cuddled under Nagito’s coat as the sky was lit up with even more color. The ultimate lucky student took a side glance to where Togami and Naegi were, sure enough the blond was holding Makoto in his arm during the fireworks display.

With the bright lights coming to an end and after returning to their hotel room, Nagito collapsed on the bed with Hajime, falling asleep in each other’s arms almost instantly. Before Nagito passed out completely, he overheard Naegi asking to join Togami for a quick morning spa treatment. Oh yeah, those two definitely had a thing for each other, a little secret he would keep to himself.


	8. Dragon-Ista

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fashion and Dragons, what more could anyone ask for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned my beauties! Now then some things to address.
> 
> 1\. Why did I wait this long to update? Well for one; I wanted to get back to crocheting and I wanted to take a break. That and I milked September and October out of everything I could think of for those two months. So, in order to keep with my 'Post accordingly' I had to wait until November before continuing
> 
> 2\. Being the impatient bitch I am, our dragon is coming just a tad bit early. Originally it was going to be for Christmas, but after messing with my friends on chat a different Christmas chapter will be made.
> 
> More at the end.

Life at the academy tended to bring new adventures of some kind, especially if your secret boyfriend was Byakuya Togami. It started like any other day; get out of bed, quick shower and teeth brushing, dressed in casual wear (today was finally the weekend after all), and spending time with his unhatched lizard child. Tanaka told him that it should hatch any day now, he found out what the breed was and said something about them only hatching in the fall or winter, in all honesty, Makoto tuned him out the moment he said the dragon should hatch soon. Byakuya on the other hand, was the reluctant father, even though he wasn’t fond of the idea of having a baby dragon during their school year and would most likely be in trouble if their headmaster found out about this, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to see it out of its shell.

Speaking of Byakuya. He was the reason Makoto left his room today and went over to the heir’s dorm room that day. He took the egg with him and kept it in his sweater as he approached the locked door and took out the spare from his pocket, very grateful that he was given a spare from his boyfriend and allowing himself in, he was expecting to see Byakuya on that lavished couch with a new book in his hand but instead he saw the blond on the phone trying not to bite the caller’s head off. Makoto had seen Byakuya mad before, but this wrath was a new sight for him, he assumed it was business related and silently let him carry on as he just locked the door behind him and taking a seat on the couch with their dragon child in his lap.

“For the last time, asking this of me this late in the year is ludicrous! Tell your idiot superiors to change the damn theme to something appropriate for the season because this is downright impossible for anyone!” Byakuya sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Actually, you know what, I have a better idea after the showing. Tell your superior and your fellow coworkers to start praying to every god they can think of, because you just pissed off the wrong person.” He turned his phone off and threw it carelessly on the bed before going to the couch, the scowl he had earlier lightened up at the sight of his own idiot.

“At least you’re always a pleasant sight.” Byakuya had a breath of relief.

“First time I saw you biting a person’s head off.” Makoto picked up the egg and set it on his lap so he had a place to sit. “What was that about?”

Byakuya sighed and sat down beside him. “Safe to assume the door is locked, I really don’t want the others to learn about this. As you know, my family is one of many that runs a wide variety of companies and you also know I run a few branches of my own after attaining my own wealth.” He started off. “Well, as the youngest, this was probably a cruel joke as someone in my family gave me the fashion industry as a gift and as my own branch. Granted, I still excelled at it, otherwise I wouldn’t be worthy of the Togami name.”

“So, the phone call, it’s one of those fashion shows, right?” Makoto guessed.

“You would be right. The theme for this show is Fairy Tales, now logically this would most likely belong in the spring where you can work with the light colors to capture a princess or summer to deal with warmer colors to bring out the knights and dragons, not in the damn winter.” Byakuya felt his blood pressure raise. “And don’t you dare tell me it’s still fall because it’s November, it’s been constant snow.”

Makoto shook his head and stared at his boyfriend, the problem probably wasn’t the out of place theme, it was most likely something else. Still, he did have a few ideas on how he could help him solve this little conflict. He took his boyfriend’s hand into his and gave a gentle reassuring squeeze to calm him. Byakuya looked over at him and returned the squeeze, slowly starting to settle his racing heart.

“Do you have a spare sketchbook?” Makoto asked. “I might be able to help get some winter designs for you?”

“I’m not even going to bother asking what you have in mind. But yes, I do have some books that have a blank model in them for you to use.” Byakuya stood up and went to his desk to take out the book in question. “Bring back what you have by dinner, I’ll babysit the egg while you’re off on your little adventure.”

“That reminds me.” Makoto took the sketchbook and pencil case. “What are we going to name our dragon child? I mean, Tanaka told us it was a jewel dragon so I was thinking maybe a gem name? Sapphire?”

“The egg is too dark a blue to name it that.” Byakuya looked at the egg. “I was thinking Noctem.”

“You’re naming our dragon the Latin word for night?” Makoto giggled a little. “Kind of works, the shell has that twilight sky hue to it. Alright, Noctem it is!”

“Quick to agree, once again I will never understand you one-bit Makoto.” Byakuya kissed his cheek. “Now run along and go play.”

Makoto laughed and kissed him before rushing out of the door, eager to begin his endeavor on helping his lover with his Fairy Tale line.

*** * ***

“I absolutely adore the Little Mermaid!” Aoi exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. “Well, the Disney one cause the original story is too sad, I mean…she gave up her voice to be with the prince who then flat out went with a different girl. At least in the Disney one, she gets a happier ending.”

Makoto was sitting across from her with the sketchbook in hand, his plan was simple; go around asking his classmates what their favorite fairy tale was and have them describe what they’d wear if they were in said story, or even draw them in said clothing. So far, he had Hansel and Gretel from Kuzuryu and Pekoyama, Rapunzel from Maizono, and The Frog Prince from Hanamura. He had the perfect excuse too; it was just for extra credit for a class, his grades were slipping.

“What about you Makoto, what’s your favorite story?” she pressed on.

“Oh! I guess the Snow Queen?” he said with a tiny smile, “Same author?”

“Huh, well I guess that’s cool too. I can see why you like it, I mean it has a happy end too. Well, I have to go meet Sakura we’re doing weights today, good luck with your extra credit assignment!” she hurried out of the library and left Makoto alone to draw out the mermaid style dress.

Makoto thanked her and started drawing out the designs; for Aoi, he started with a mermaid style dress, going with light sea green and blue to get a perfect ocean blend, a few white ruffles to act as sea foam and subtle shells sewn in around. For Mondo, he started with a basic knight appear, instead of chain mesh he went with dragon scales for the sleeve and pants, a warm fur cloak for a Viking appearance, and a fire sword just for the fun of it. Swords were awesome. He kept this formula with the information from his other classmates, doing his best to mix the elements of the story as well as trying to capture the personality of them as well, actually now that he’s thinking about it, he should probably pick up a book on fairy tales when he meets with Byakuya to finalize everything and maybe even read to their dragon child.

“And what is Makoto up to?” Came a cheerful sounding girl.

Makoto looked up to see Enoshima sitting across from him, smiling and tapping her red nails on the table.

“Well? I’m waiting, what are you up to?” she asked again.

Makoto set the pencil down, maybe he could have her look over the designs since she was the Ultimate Fashionista. “Just working on something for art class, extra credit and all.”

Enoshima took the sketchbook and looked over each page, she wasn’t entirely impressed with them to say the least. Then again, Makoto wasn’t entirely the designer type. But, she can honestly say that Makoto had some really good ideas, the only problem is him executing them to something amazing!

“Let me see if I’m getting this right. You’re struggling in art and you’re doing extra credit, you then decide to draw our classmates in some form of fairy tale world and how they would look like in certain ones; I see Maizono here with braided hair and flowers and a flowy dress, what story were you going here?”

“Rapunzel.” He answered. “But yeah, that’s what I’m up to.”

She closed the book and leaned forward to him, “Right.” She looked him in the eyes. “So, what else is there? I mean, you can’t honestly tell me that’s all there is to the extra credit. Planning to paint them? Maybe you plan to actually create these from scratch? You do know how to sew right?”

Makoto flinched under her gaze and played with the pencil instead, he hated when she analyzed him like this, it was near impossible to keep things hidden from her. He sighed and shook his head, “I’m sorry, I can’t really-”

“You’re doing this for Byakuya Togami aren’t you?” She asked in a blunt tone.

“You said it, not me.” Makoto retorted.

“And you’re not denying it. Seriously, I don’t know why you two are hiding your relationship, anyone with a brain can see you two are a thing. Which would be Mukuro, Nagito, and I.” She shrugged. “Whatever, it’s not really my business, you two do what you do. So, why are you doing this for your boyfriend again?”

“It’s just something for his company is all.” Makoto told her. “That’s really all there is.”

“I’m sure it is.” She stood up and stretched. “Whatever you say Makoto, what you two do behind closed doors is your business. Of course, I do know where to score a rose whip if you ever need one.”

“There will be no need for that!” He cried out.

Enoshima just laughed and walked out of the library, leaving a flustered Makoto alone. Great, so three people knew of his relationship with Byakuya. Well, three wasn’t so bad, and Nagito was harmless he wouldn’t out a secret like this. Enoshima and Ikusaba were in their own little world and never would ever bother with letting out secrets either, no, that was a lie, Enoshima would do that just to get a reaction out of Byakuya or him, she really enjoyed messing with their heads at times. With a sigh, Makoto closed the sketchbook and took a few books from the shelf before returning to Byakuya’s room to share what he had in terms of model designs for his struggling Fairy Tale show, at least some little sense of good news would brighten things up.

With a turn of the key and letting himself in, he set the books on a side table before turning to see his boyfriend standing by the egg and beside the Ultimate Breeder.

“Gundham?” Makoto called. “Why are you here?”

“Byakuya summoned me, he saw the egg move and wanted me over to help getting the dragon out of its shell.”

Out of its shell? Makoto’s eyes lit up, he moved over and sat by Gundham and reached out to the egg. “So today is the day then? The little one will be out in the world finally?”

“It is possible.” He nodded. “It will recognize us thankfully as I said earlier that dragons are capable of hearing from inside their egg, so we won’t have to worry about it being afraid of us after hatching.”

This was even better news! All three males were gathered by the egg as it continued to move around the makeshift nest, a few times Gundham had to gently move it back to the nest whenever it would get close to the edge of the bed. While it was true that it could help with the cracking they weren’t going to risk harming it. Makoto had the job of calling out to the dragon inside, gently coaxing it to start breaking out and enter the world. A few cracks and a small talon came out of the egg, Gundhum gently moved some of the shell away to help it along. There was a soft chirp sound was heard alongside with a raspy hiss, the little guy wasn’t even out and already it was trying to be ferocious. Makoto let out a gentle giggle and continued talking to it, causing the dragon to flop on the side and poke its little head out of the shell.

“Hello Noctem.” Byakuya greeted gently. “You’re a handsome boy aren’t you.”

Noctem gave a small purr sound in reply. He was indeed beautiful, the light in the room really brought out the shine in the dark blue scales. Dark blue with white ridges; Byakuya recognized the pattern as an Azurite gem. Azurite drusy; a dark blue gem with natural crystal formations, he smiled and gently petted his head that alone caused the dragon to jump and crack the shell more, a little wiggle and it was finally out. Now able to show the white ridges of his wings, tail, and claws. Naturally, his eyes were stuck from the fluid of the egg that was easily rectified as Gundham gently wiped the dragon’s eyes with a damp cloth.

Opening his eyes, Noctem looked at the three, trying to figure out which one was the ‘mother’, giving a confused chirping like sound. Makoto gently took him into his arms and smiled at him. “Hey there, Noctem, welcome to the world.” That got the dragon to change and become extremely affectionate. Byakuya chuckled and tickled the chin in reply.

“Looks like I have some competition for you, Makoto.” That got the dragon to move from ‘mommy’ and into ‘daddy’s’ arms.

“It appears it recognizes who its pack is.” Gundham stood up and collected the shell from Byakuya’s bed. “I’ll be back to do a quick check up.”

Makoto just nodded and stayed beside Byakuya and the dragon. Despite it being winter, things definitely got a whole lot warmer between them. Remembering why he was here, Makoto stood up and retrieved the sketchbook and showed his boyfriend and their dragon child the designs he got off his classmates, explaining his procedure without bringing Byakuya’s name into the light and asking if anything stood out. The young heir nodded in somewhat approval; Makoto’s designs could use some serious work, but they were at least easy to comprehend what he was trying to go for and that would be enough to transcribe over to a more decent model sheet before being turned into a dress or suit (or armor in this case).

“Once more Makoto, you are forever full of surprises.” He kissed his head. “I’m going to…polish these off and then tomorrow; you, me, and Noctem are going to the studio to work.”

“Wait, why is Noctem coming with us?”

“Do you honestly expect us to leave a baby dragon alone? What kind of responsible owner are you?”

Makoto just blushed. “Right, uh, I’ll see about getting a sweater for him then.” He said almost sheepishly.

Byakuya shook his head. Taking care of the dragon would be easier than Makoto, but, the challenge was worth it, he didn’t mind one bit as long as the reward was satisfying and it always was. Makoto staying on top of his schoolwork, and with a little more polishing he could be modeled into a gentleman for family gatherings or at formal dates. As for the dragon, well, a dragon was a dragon, the reward was having a mythical creature in general.

“See Noctem, I have to take care of you both now.” He gently cooed to the dragon. “Makoto tends to act without thinking.”

“Hey!” Makoto protested. “I do not!”

“Day one here, you nearly slammed the door into me.” Byakuya reminded.

“Ahhh! Just let it go already!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, to clear the air here; There's a book that does detail about the Togami Empire. However, I have not read it nor have I read anything else as because A) It's not in English. B) I don't want to be spending a lot of time on google trying to learn everything from stuff that's in a different game (One I probably don't have a copy to begin with) or other source. So, because of that, I do NOT know what the real business of the Togami Empire is or their branches.
> 
> Which brings me to this: Why does Byakuya here run a fashion line? Well, as stated above, I know nothing about the real side of the Togami Empire. Because of this (and playing Love Nikki on hours on end instead of writing), I thought to myself; Okay, we have a family of assholes, what would they give the youngest heir to manage? Well, Youngest Heir, you now run the fashion branch of the empire, who cares if you surpassed your other siblings and attained a massive amount of wealth on your own. (Seriously, this is the family that has the head of the family screwing various women and having various sons to compete to be the head of the family. Winner succeeds, the losers are disowned from the family. Don't tell me Byakuya's father wouldn't give his son a fashion business out of spite.)
> 
> That's really all I have to say. Stay tuned for more. And thank you for staying with me this long.


	9. Snow Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The world outside might be frozen over, but inside Hope's Peak Academy things are actually warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone lives in Minnesota, WE HAVE SNOW NOW! So, to honor the first snow fall as well as to welcome any and all possible upcoming blizzards because Canada keeps sending us their snow, here we are. Might be short, but ah well.

There was something about the gentle falling of the snow that seem to bring a sense of peace to the world. With the snow coming down and the days being shorter, the students did what they could to go out and enjoy the snow day like they did with fall. Of course, the inevitable snowball fights happened but the surprising thing was seeing some of the quieter students join in the fun. Fuyuhiko was one of them, and he did not show mercy on the boy’s team, then again neither did Peko on the girl’s team. Makoto on the other hand was with Yasuhiro and Kiyotaka making a snowman. While they enjoyed the occasional snowball fights, sometimes it was just as fun to relax and make various forms of snow sculptures. Some others were on board with the simple joys of snow; Hifumi, Aoi, Sayaka, and even Kazuichi were off to the side creating something out of the snow.

Naturally, not everyone was outside during this time. Gundham, Teruteru, and Byakuya were inside. Gundham probably didn’t want his hamsters to freeze, and Teruteru was probably getting homemade cocoa made for everyone. Still, despite Makoto understanding why Byakuya wouldn’t be interested in playing in the snow, he felt a little lonely without him joining in. It would be neat to build a snowman or even making a set of snow angels with his boyfriend, but with the terms of not letting the rest of the school know, that alone was just near impossible.

“Makoto, are you okay?” Taka asked with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Makoto assured him. “Just, thinking about the upcoming break is all.”

Yasuhiro had a light laugh. “Ah yeah, we get a four-day break, don’t we? We get to hang out with the family that time and not have to worry about homework! Well, until we get back that is.” He ruffled Makoto’s hair. “Bet you’re excited, you have a little sister back home!”

Makoto laughed and nodded. “Yeah, Komaru.” He confirmed. “We exchange letters and there’s so much I couldn’t put in writing. She’ll be so excited to see me and hear about all of you!”

“You tell your family about us too?” Taka asked with a smile. “I do the same, they’d really like to meet everyone someday. Maybe in the spring we could arrange a small picnic so our folks can meet each other, be like our own little family reunion! I mean, here at the academy we’re essentially everyone’s second family.”

“I can see where you’re going with this, and that’s easier said than done.” Fuyuhiko came over, brushing the snow off his jacket. “I mean, some of us have shady backgrounds. Like being part of a mafia clan.” He reminded.

“So, we set up at a quiet secluded place where no one has to look over their shoulders.” Taka offered.

Fuyuhiko thought it over for a while before slowly nodding. “Well, my family does have a private beach house we could use. But the next part would be getting the rest of our class and their families on board with it.”

“Shouldn’t be too hard.” Makoto shook his head a little. “Hey is it me, or is the snowfall getting heavier?”

It was starting to look like a white out. The snowfall was coming down hard, and the wind was starting to pick up, causing the temperature to drop. Everyone paused in what they were doing and hurried back inside the school as to avoid being caught in an upcoming blizzard. Once the doors were closed and everyone was huddling trying to warm up, the automatic lock clicked into place and Usami appeared on the monitor in the main hall.

“Attention students of Hope’s Peak Academy; due to the weather outside the doors to the academy will be locked until you are safely able to travel home. We apologize for this inconvenience as we know you probably want to visit your family or to go out and stretch your legs for the weekend, fortunately, despite the weather outside, a break is still a break! No classes for the four-day weekend!”

That was the morning announcement of the day, and it was a bummer indeed. Makoto wanted to spend the break with his family and update them on everything that he couldn’t put in pen. Yeah, letter exchanges were nice, but the thrill was talking about everything at the dinner table with his family. Looking around, everyone had the same dejected expression written on their face. It was a pitiful sight to see in Hope’s Peak, normally an expression like this was reserved to failing final exams and not entering university. The fun part was no school for four days, but that’s only fun when they weren’t locked down in school! With a sigh, Makoto made his way to his room, he may as well get his phone out and tell his family he wouldn’t be returning home due to the weather.

Arriving in his room, he smiled at the sight before him; Noctem was laying in his little bed sleeping, his claw holding onto a toy and unconsciously pulling it beside him. That was a cheerful sight, his little dragon being adorable and cuddling with a toy rabbit. Feeling a little better, he got out his phone and dialed home.

“Hey big bro!” came a cheerful voice. “We were wondering when you were going to call, what’s keeping you!”

“Sorry Komaru, but due to the weather I’m going to be on lockdown for a while.” He replied sheepishly.

“Seriously? It’s that bad up there?” Komaru asked in major disbelief. “I mean, we heard that things were going to get bad later tonight, then again…we do live a little further from the city.” She sighed. “Well, spill the beans! When are you actually going to come visit us and what’s been going on at the academy!”

Makoto laughed at his sister’s impatience before detailing everything that has been happening; from the antics of his friends to the soft gentle moments of being with his boyfriend to even talking about the dragon that had hatched! He was a proud owner of an Azurite dragon! That alone got Komaru going, she was practically begging Makoto to bring the little guy over when he visited, and speaking of bringing someone over…

“That reminds me, you even mentioned your boyfriend in a letter home.” Komaru piped up. “Mom wants to know if you’re ever going to bring him over for dinner some day?”

And that was the one question he was afraid to hear. He hadn’t gotten around to telling Byakuya about his family and the fact that despite their agreement of keeping their relationship behind closed doors he went and told his family about them. The last thing he wanted was to piss the heir off with this.

“Ah, I haven’t gotten around to asking him. He’s still a business man as well as a student so it’s pretty hard to-”

“-Makoto you liar.” Komaru interrupted. “You told us about him, I know damn well he’s not that busy. Even if he was, he always makes time for you. What is the real reason you hadn’t asked him to come over?”

“I…might have broke a promise. See, we were supposed to keep our relationship behind closed doors until after the big reveal on Christmas, and I’m pretty sure this includes telling our families about the other.” He said with a light nervous laugh.

Komaru fell silent, the sound of her slapping her face was heard. “Seriously Makoto? I know you said he has a skewed sense of pride but I doubt he would care if you told him. Just ask him already!”

“It’s not that easy! I can’t just walk up to him and say ‘Hey Byakuya, my family wants to know if you’d like to come over for dinner some day?’”

“Actually, you can just do that.” Came a familiar velvet tone.

“Was that your boyfriend?” Komaru asked, a grin forming. “Tell him I said Hi!”

“Komaru, I’m going to have to call you back.” Makoto hung up before she could say anything else.

Turning to face Byakuya who was now locking the door behind him, Makoto inwardly slapped his forehead, one of these days he would just press the desk against the door to keep people from walking in. Byakuya turned to face the flustered boy, he left the silence linger a little before speaking.

“So, that was your little sister you speak so fondly of.” He noted. “She sounded like a lively one, probably from growing up with you.”

Makoto kept his gaze from him. “Yeah, she’s a fun person to be around.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “Listen, I know I broke our agreement-”

“You didn’t.” Byakuya interrupted. “The terms of our dating were to not let our fellow classmates know until Christmas; if they find out on their own, which is unlikely, they find out on their own. Just so long as we keep quiet about it until then. Telling your family about us doesn’t breach the terms.”

He looked up at his boyfriend and had a faint smile on his face, “So when this storm clears and we have a day off like the weekend you could come over to my place?”

Byakuya smiled and held Makoto by the shoulder. “Just as long as it doesn’t fall on the same day my family wants to meet you. My father is eager to meet the boy who turned me from family tradition.” He looked him up and down. “Of course, we’ll have to find you something nicer to wear than that hideous sweater of yours.”

Makoto nudged him. “If I have to get rid of my sweater, you’re getting rid of those unnecessary suspenders for meeting with my family.”

“Do you really think you’re in position to be making demands, Makoto?” He gently shoved him to the bed and pinned him down. “You who always leave yourself exposed?”

“Oh, come on!” he struggled under him. “You just let yourself in with the spare key, that doesn’t count!”  
Byakuya laughed and kissed him before standing back up. “You still let me corner you to your bed where I could pounce any time.”

Makoto grinned. “You left yourself exposed too.” He grabbed him by the coat and pulled him down for another kiss. “Like that.”

“You’re definitely learning.” Byakuya smiled down at him and stood up once more. “Come on, your friend group is having a little sleep over in the dojo. They insist I be there and since you know I will only go to their get togethers if you’re there.”

Makoto stood up and followed Byakuya out of the room and into the halls, since most everyone would be upstairs on the fifth floor they were able to walk close together hand in hand. The blizzard could kiss their asses, they would be warm inside the school and in each other’s embrace. Well, up until they got inside the dojo, then they would have to rely on the blankets and sleeping bags for the warmth. But until then, they could stay like this and take their time to meet with everyone.


	10. Christmas Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big reveal to the students of Hope's Peak Academy leaves everyone speechless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I had I said, I am super sorry I hadn't been updating like I should. However, I got this chapter done today and hopefully will be back in the saddle with some late chapters filling up the November and December slot, the missed birthdays, and get us back on track by Valentine's Day.

Christmas time was here! Well, more accurately, the day before Christmas break was here.

The entire academy was dressed up for the holidays; a Santa hat on the skeleton in the science room, Christmas trees in the halls and in select rooms, lights hanging in the windows, even the students’ dorms were customized. Makoto in particular had a wreath on his door and garland over the wall as well as a small tree that Noctem moved his little bed to. It was a humble little sight, the only thing missing on his said tree were the candy canes, the silly dragon kept eating them before he could get them on the tree.

“You certainly are a troublemaker.” Makoto petted him. “Keep this up and you’ll get coal in your stocking.”

Not that it would be a bad thing for a dragon, if anything, Noctem would enjoy it. Standing up and grabbing his uniform blazer, Makoto went off to start his day at the academy once again. The dining hall was lively with everyone gushing over what they were going to be doing on the holiday season; Aoi was going caroling with her family and spending the night with hot cocoa and presents, Chihiro was going to be turning his house into a Christmas light show to entertain passerby’s as they drove past his house, Kyoko was going to be spending time with her father at the academy on the eve and then spend the 25th with her mother’s side. They all sounded wonderful, Makoto smiled at everyone’s plans as he got his breakfast from Teruteru. While they all had a special tradition, there was one person he was more curious about than the others.

“Hey babe.” Makoto greeted as he sat by his boyfriend.

Byakuya looked up from his book and gave a slight annoyed look at him. “Makoto, we’ve talked about this.”

“I know, but the school’s Christmas party is coming up tomorrow.” Makoto reminded. “I’m just too excited to keep this secret.”

“Right. The secret Santa thing.” Byakuya set his book down and took a drink of his normal coffee. “So, who did you draw from the hat?”

“Hifumi. Don’t say anything but, I kind of cheated and bought the first anime figurine I saw as well as a gift card to Anime Jungle.” Makoto shrugged. “I did get you something, I have to go pick it up first.”

That got Byakuya’s full attention. “Did you now? What a coincidence, I got you and Noctem something as well. They’re already wrapped up, which brings me to this.” He held his hand out. “The spare key, hand it over.”

“W-what?!”

“You think I don’t know you? I know damn well you’re going to try to get to the present before the party. Now, hand it over.”

Makoto pouted and handed the spare key to Byakuya’s room. Alright, so he couldn’t cheat this year at the academy, but he wasn’t going to let that get him down. After all, he had a full day to try and bribe his boyfriend and gain hints as to what it is, he could work with that loophole. The rest of their time at breakfast went through like a breeze before classes began. Classes during this day were just spent in homeroom watching movies and doing a worksheet answering questions about the movie, an easy assignment that mostly ended with students passing notes to each other and only half paying attention to what’s playing. Lunch and break were the same, everyone had a quick bite before packing a bag so they were ready to leave after the party tomorrow so they could spend their holidays with family. Due to it being break, Makoto got his coat on and went over to Kyoko at the main hall. She was probably one of the only other students who could drive and he needed to get to the store and back in a short amount of time.

“So, a flower store.” Kyoko noted as she turned the heat up slightly. “Am I safe to assume this is someone’s present?”

“Yeah. Red carnations actually, the person they’re for-”

“You can say Byakuya.” She interrupted. “I know you two are a thing, it’s no big deal.”

Makoto turned a light red. “Junko said only three people knew.” He muttered.

“Technically true. Her and her sister along with Komaeda.” she pulled up to the store. “I knew for a while, I just didn’t bother sharing with them. You two are keeping this a secret, it’s between you.”

“It won’t be a secret for long, we plan to reveal to everyone at the party.”

“His plan no doubt. Anyway, go get his flowers.” She smiled at him.

A bouquet of fresh red carnations. Makoto picked them for a specific reason; Byakuya compared them to the flower so many times that it only felt natural to get them. Wrapped up and tied with a green bow and sitting in a vase of ice-cold water, Makoto held them close and paid for them before returning to Kyoko. She agreed to take them and hold them in the mini-fridge in the teacher’s lounge until the party tomorrow. Having her on his side was great, he thanked her and gave a quick hug before they parted ways at the school.

As that was going on, Byakuya was on his phone making phone calls to not only his family; asking if it was fine if they invited the Naegi family over to join the festivities but also to the said Naegi household to invite them over. This was a perfect plan; get both families to meet and have dinner with, and celebrate Christmas together in the same setting! Of course, he had to get pass Makoto’s little sister first.

“I just want to make sure I got this right before I hang up; you want us to come to your family’s mansion for a Christmas party.”

“Correct. We’re going to be meeting each other anyway for family dinner, we may as well do it this way.”

Komaru had a grin. “Sure…you just want to spoil him. I’m not going to judge, well anyway, we’ll totally come! See you Christmas day, Togami!”

The line went dead. Byakuya sighed and turned his phone off, however did his boyfriend survived a little sister like her? Well, the family was coming along anyway, so that was something to look forward to at least. Right now, he had a bouncing idiot to spend the rest of the day with.

**-**

The Christmas party sure took its time coming around. Everyone was gathered in the gym where a mountain of presents was under the tree, and treats were laid out on a set of tables. Instead of uniforms, everyone had a Christmas themed sweater on or dorky reindeer antlers on their heads, Sayaka was on the stage singing carols to get the festive feeling going and even inviting others to join her in the fun. Leon and Ibuki joined in on Jingle Bell Rock where Ibuki had the guitar and played along.

Monokuma and Usami were going through the presents hand handing them to their intended recipients; Kazuichi got a new tool kit from Kiyotaka, Mondo got a customized leather jacket from Byakuya (Pure leather with silver studs), and Peko got a new katana from Sakura. The thought that went into each gift was phenomenal in it’s own little way.

“Okay hold the phone! Does no-one know how secret Santa’s work?” Monokuma demanded. “It’s _one_ Santa per person! Who is Mr. Naegi’s original Santa?”

Chihiro raised his hand. “I only got him the small gift.” He pointed to the small one. “It’s…a game”

Monokuma set it on the podium. “Alright, now who the hell got him this behemoth?” He pointed his paw at the huge box on the stage. “So big you could shove a body in it.”

This time it was Byakuya’s turn to raise his hand. “That one is mine.”

“Makoto, if you would gladly open this for us and reveal what in god’s name Mr. Togami got you, that’d be swell.”

Of course, his boyfriend got him the biggest thing out there. Makoto smiled and went to the stage, he wanted to open Chihiro’s game first, which turned out to be the controversial game Rule of Rose. Thanking his friend, he went and opened Byakuya’s present. A new flat screen HD TV. That alone got everyone whispering to each other, yeah Byakuya was rich as all hell, but to buy a TV for someone? Okay no, buying a TV would be like spending pocket change it really wasn’t that surprising now that they thought of it.

“Whoa! What did you do to get Togami to get you something like this for Christmas?” Akane asked.

“Let me show you.” Makoto left the gym and rushed upstairs.

That got more whispers. Okay, what on earth was Makoto going to do, get into a sexy costume and do a show for everyone? While that would be an amazing scene, some had their doubts that it would be allowed. An even more surprise was when he came back with the flowers and made his way to Byakuya, handing them to him.

“Red carnation; the flower of pride, admiration” Makoto started out.

Okay made sense. The students nodded to each other, Makoto grinned and kissed Byakuya on the lips, which really caused some gasps and shocked expressions.

“As well as the flower of love.”

Byakuya took the vase and gently set it aside before bringing Makoto close. “You forgot to mention that it means; My heart aches for you.” He kissed him back with a bit more passion to it. “I expected nothing less of you, Makoto.”

“Wait! You mean you two have been a couple all this time!?” Hiyoko screeched. “When did this happened!”

Byakya wasn’t letting go of his boyfriend. “Sometime at the start of Novemeber, we agreed to keep it a secret. In fact, you can thank Toko for bringing us together with her new novel idea.” He smirked as the girl in question hid her face in her new notebook she received today.

“Would it be okay if I took a picture of you two? A personalized Christmas card for you to keep?” Mahiru asked as she held up her camera.

Byakuya just shrugged, he picked up his flowers and lead her and Makoto to the new TV to pose for her. Just like that they were bombarded with various questions about their relationships. Byakuya just humored them for the sake of Makoto who was too honest for his own good, besides, this wasn’t the end of his Christmas surprise for the Ultimate Lucky Student. And that would show tomorrow when they were in the car and on their way home for the holidays.

**-**

Despite the grey skies and the falling snow, the world was pretty warm. Then again, it really helped that Makoto was in the warm limo with his boyfriend and their pet dragon on their drive around town. This was actually an exciting experience as he got to spend more time outside of school with him as well as got to see his manor, he knew Byakuya wanted his family to meet him, but to spend a short time with them on the holidays was rather surprising. Still, he wasn’t going to complain in the slightest, he was just glad he got to spend this special time with him.

“Here we are.” Byakuya got out of the car with Makoto.

Before them stood a huge palace like manor. Makoto felt his jaw drop and had to be led inside by Byakuya, he was so caught up in the grandeur of the place that when Komaru jumped on him he was even more speechless, even hugging hijm a bit tight she was squeezing the poor dragon in his arms.

“K-Komaru? What are you doing here?” Makoto choked out.

She laughed and gently pushed him. “Celebrating Christmas with your boyfriend’s family! Didn’t he tell you we were spending the day here?”

“No. No he didn’t” He looked up at his smirking boyfriend.

“Don’t tell me you thought that new TV was my only gift to you.” Byakuya chuckled. “Now Miss Komaru, if you could kindly let him go, you’re suffocating Noctem.”

Komaru pulled back and saw the dragon looking up at her. “Whoa, he’s beautiful.” She held his hand out to him. “Hey sweetie.”

“You can play with him in a bit.” Byakuya lead the two to the foyer where the family were.

Makoto felt his heart skip when he saw his family as well as to have it stop momentarily when he saw the intimidating head of the household himself. Ryuichi Togami. He could see where Byakuya got his intimidating icy glare from.

“Father.” Byakuya held Makoto by the shoulder. “This is Makoto, the boy I told you about.”

Ryuichi looked at Makoto, taking the commoner in and nodding. “You’re right, he’s just as dull as he looks.” He said simply. “Still, he did manage to make a Togami break from family traditions, so he’s.” He stopped when he saw Noctem jump from Makoto’s arm and crawling under a couch. “Was that a dragon?”

“Yes sir.” Makoto confirmed. “I found him as an egg on Halloween and decided to keep him. Byakuya named him Noctem.”

Just like his son, Ryuichi was rather impressed. A commoner with hardly any hope for the future managed to not only win Byakuya’s heart but also found a dragon. This boy was something indeed.

“Well, you are an enigma Makoto. I trust you’ll keep my son entertained with your mysterious behavior.”

Byakuya leaned to whisper to Makoto. “That’s just his way of giving you his blessing, don’t take it too seriously.”

Makoto just nodded. Then again, his parents weren’t really much better than the students from the academy. Like the students, the Naegi household were more interested in the details; How did they meet, what made them fall for each other, were they planning on marriage (“Damn it Komaru, we’re nowhere near that stage yet!”) and so on. Byakuya and Ryuichi, just found this entertaining, mostly because of how flustered Makoto got.

“Also, I don’t know if you two noticed but…you’ve been under that mistletoe for a while.” Komaru grinned.

“Byakuya if you planned this-!” Makoto cried.

Byakuya pulled him close. “So, what if I did? Father had the maid set it up for you.”

“I want a divorce, I’m keeping the dragon.” Makoto pouted

“We’re not married, and it was your dragon to begin with.” He kissed him. “Merry Christmas Makoto.”

“Merry Christmas to you, you jerk.”


	11. Birthday Special: Kyoko Kirigiri

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sun is shining, the birds are still chirping, the leaves are starting to fall. On days like this, children should be having a pool party to celebrate a friend's birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it has been a while hasn't it? Okay, so this is one of many late birthday chapters I forgot to do and for that I am terribly sorry. I'm struggling on the Valentine's Day Chapter, so until I get that block cleared up I am just going to focus on the birthdays I've missed.

Makoto just stared at the invite in his hand. It’s been a month since he started his new life at this academy and in that month, he not only made new friends but also been invited to one of their birthday parties. Specifically, Kirigiri’s birthday that Asashina was throwing for, it was going to be a pool party as Kiri said she didn’t care what kind of party it would be. “Just host what you think I might like” was all the Ultimate Detective said, so they were having a pool party. That was all fine and all, but that left the problem of getting an appropriate gift for her. After thinking for a while, he decided to make a deal with the devil himself by going to Togami’s room, he would have to do more than play secretary if he was going to be borrowing money from the Ultimate Heir but it would be worth it in the end.

Taking a huge gulp of air, Makoto knocked on his door and stood back.

Silence. That killing silence lingered before the door opened to show the annoyed blond before him.

“Naegi.” He greeted.

“Hey Togami, uh I have a favor to ask of you?” Makoto squeaked out.

“A favor?” He crossed his arms. “And you’re going to pay me back for this how?”

“I’ll think of something, but…right now I need your help. Kiri’s birthday is coming up and I need help getting a present for her.”

Togami fell silent for a bit. He did receive an invitation as well, he wasn’t entirely planning on going nor did he planned on buying a gift for a girl he barely knew unlike Makoto. This little idiot was such a people pleaser. Though, it couldn’t hurt to go out for the day, he finished his homework and was just reading up on the Black Daliah case for the umpteenth time so this little outing could be just to kill time.

“Your budget is five hundred, less than what is considered pocket change.” Togami said. “You may go one hundred over the limit but that is it. Do you understand?”

“Yes Togami-san.” Makoto was ecstatic, now he could get something nice.

“In return, you are going to be doing housekeeping. I expect you to do a decent job maintaining my dorm.”

Togami went back into his room and got his bag before leaving with Makoto to the local mall. The boy being his maid was another test; so far, the idiot showed he could tackle on multiple tasks even if he tended to overwork and overwhelm himself, now he wanted to see if Makoto could handle keeping a clean environment. After all, the ultimate heir expected nothing less than perfect from his peers and if Makoto was set on being around him then he had better shape up before their school life was over.

*****

The shopping trip was rather easy, if you’re Byakuya Togami that is. He had settled on perfume, blueberry scented and high quality of course. As for Makoto, he was dragged into a book store and was going through every mystery novel he could find and trying to figure out which one Kiri would like more. It was amusing, but sad at the same time. Anyone with a braincell could tell that despite being serious and quiet that she had a girly side to her and after deciding enough was enough, Togami ended up dragging Makoto to one of the ‘girly’ shops.

“Here, you have a better chance on finding something for her.” He shoved him forward.

Makoto blinked and made his way through the shelves looking at things like dolls, clothing, and makeup. A part of him felt that this was extremely sexist to buy something like this just because Kiri was a girl, still what choice did he have? Togami was stationed by the door to keep him from leaving and trying another store, so he was pretty much stuck there. Though, another part of him was glad, because right there in the hair accessories he found it. It was perfect! A black headband with a bedazzled red rose sitting pretty among others. Without thinking, he grabbed it and quickly bought it and showing off to Togami.

“There see? Was that so hard?” he smirked. “You found a gift after all.”

He led Makoto back to school where they could wrap their respected gifts and so they could get changed into their swimsuits for the party. It took almost all afternoon to get done with their shopping due to Makoto’s indecisiveness, but they managed to get everything ready by the time of the party.

The second-floor gym and pool were where everything was set up; cake and treats were on the bleachers alongside the presents everyone had worked hard on, most everyone was in the pool swimming with Asahina as the lifeguard for everyone. The only people not swimming was Hinata, Togami, Tanaka and Kuzuryuu. They had their reasons not wanting to swim with the others.

The party was going just fine! There was a lot of games planned out, like Chicken or water volleyball, even in the gym portion they had pin the tail on the Monokuma and even a pinata. Everyone was having a good time, and Koizumi was having a blast getting pictures of everyone’s smiles and laughter for the yearbook and for personal photo albums people might have. The fun was coming to a close after cake when it was time for presents, Kiri adored what everyone got; Fujisaki got her a tablet, Owada got a can of mace (Never know when you need to subdue a suspect). The final two were the perfume and hairband, she was rather surprised seeing who bought the perfume though.

“I wasn’t expecting you to get this.” Kyoko smiled. “Thank you, Togami.”

“I’m more amazed he actually showed up.” Owada muttered. “Bastard made it clear he could care less about showing up.”

Togami just scoffed and crossed his arms. “I’ll be sure not to show up to your party then if you’re this hostile by my appearance, Owada.”

“Break it up you two.” Kiri scolded. “If you want to fight each other, do so downstairs.”

She went and opened the final gift, the hairband. Her eyes just widened at this, she thought the perfume was pricey but this…this was on another level.

“Makoto how did you afford this?” She asked, still staring at the hair band.

“What do you mean? Aren’t those just rhinestones?” Makoto blinked, confused as to why it was a big deal.

“Makoto, this is diamond embellished.”

The room went silent. It was something if Togami bought is as he would see the price as just pocket change, but for Makoto to buy it? Some students were wondering if the Ultimate Lucky Student up and shoplifted the pricy gift. Seeing everyone’s face he shook his head and pointed to Togami.

“He was the one who gave me the money for it!” he protested.

Togami nodded. “He’ll work off the debt.”

“Wait, so you’re saying if we want something from you…” Hagakure grinned. “So hey, I was online and I found this-”

Togami shot an icy glare at the clairvoyant. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall saying that offer was for you. Makoto was just desperate to find a gift for Kiri and came to me. I told him he had a budget and that he would be paying it off after today. That’s it.”

Kirigiri just stared at Togami, she had her doubts. If that was the case, he wouldn’t be so defensive about the offer. There was more to Togami’s claim than he is letting on, a little mystery she would enjoy later on. But for now, she was just going to enjoy her gifts and the time her newfound friends were having. And maybe give Makoto a little grief over the fact he up and sold his soul to the Ultimate Heir as no doubt he would be going back for the others’ birthday.


End file.
